Thane Municipal Corporation to tie up with WRI to create safe school zones

The design solutions for safe school zones in Thane will include demarcation using signages, road markings, providing designated areas for walking and waiting, multi-utility zones including pick-up and drop-off zones, child-friendly spaces with playful elements and a vibrant pedestrian crossing

With the aim of building a safe school zone in the vicinity of the educational institutions, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) plans to tie up with World Resource Institute (WRI) for the same.

In the WRI school zone safety measures, design solutions will be introduced on roads to make it barrier-free, safer, walkable and vibrant for children.

A budget of ₹10Cr has been allotted by the civic body in order to create child-friendly and walkable school zones.

“We shall first develop a trial zone and take response from stakeholders. This includes traffic police, school management and the local community in the neighbourhood. Based on the response from them, the model will be replicated in other places,” said an officer from TMC education department.

The design solutions (of Safe School Zone) will include demarcation of the school zone using signages, road markings, providing designated areas for walking and waiting, multi-utility zones including pick-up and drop-off zones, child-friendly spaces with playful elements and a vibrant pedestrian crossing. The pilot project using low-cost material will aid in undertaking feedback from the neighbourhood before making it permanent on-ground.

Thane city has 777 schools with 3.79 lakh students enrolled. This includes civic, aided and unaided schools. “Now that the schools have reopened post-pandemic, this model can be adopted to ensure safe vicinity for students. There are many schools in the city where children stay within walking distance. Creating safe zones will make it convenient for children to walk home. It will also help regulate vehicular traffic in school zones and avoid accidents,” added the officer.

This model was introduced in Mumbai in October last year. A trial run was conducted at Mirza Galib Road in Byculla. This road is home to two schools. With the help of colourful markings on road and cones to demarcate the areas that are out of access, a safer pathway was created for students to cross the road and head home. A review of the same is being undertaken currently.