MCG creates city’s first model school safe zone in Sector 47

A 200-metre stretch outside Mount Olympus School in Sector 47 was temporarily re-engineered on Sunday with the help of cones, paints, recycled seats and signage

A 200-metre stretch outside Mount Olympus School in Sector 47 was temporarily re-engineered on Sunday with the help of cones, paints, recycled seats and signage to make it the city’s first model school safe zone, said officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Monday.

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The week-long trial was started with the aim of increasing safety for school children and staff members. The project was carried out by World Resources Institute (WRI) India and Raahgiri Foundation, in collaboration with the MCG and the district administration under the Vision Zero for Youth Project.

The temporary re-engineering included creation of makeshift pavements, waiting areas, pick-up and drop-off areas for school children.Under the project, signage of speed limit of 25 kmph, children crossing, no parking, pick up and drop off areas, and school zone was installed. The median, drop-off, and pick-up areas were all barricaded with traffic cones.

WRI and Raahgiri officials said the changes will remain until the end of this week.“The 200-metre school street has been reclaimed for children by reallocating spaces for footpaths, pick-up and drop-off facilities along with making spaces for waiting areas and safe crossing zone and installing road safety signage. The design has the capacity to inspire and act as a scalable model for other areas, making streets safer for children,” said Priyanka Sulkhlan, manager, cities and transport, WRI India.

As per Neeti Kaushik, principal, Mount Olympus School, nearly 70% of students either walk or cycle to school.“The 200-metre stretch was potholed, filled with mud, and had a high volume of traffic. Our students used to cross this stretch daily with limited pedestrian facilities. The stretch has now been completely transformed and will now be safe for children to navigate. It would encourage more students to cycle or walk to school. We hope it becomes a permanent feature and gets replicated across many schools in the city,” said Kaushik. Most private schools in the city are still closed for classroom sessions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, co-founder, Raahgiri foundation, said that the issue of road safety is even more critical when it comes to children because of their lack of judgement regarding speed and distances. “About 43 children die on Indian roads every day. The major reason for these deaths is the lack of pedestrian-friendly road design. Road safety is a subject that every child should know about and grow up with,” said Bhatt

On Sunday, Vinay Pratap Singh, commissioner, MCG, and chief engineer Raman Sharma along with a team of MCG officials also participated in the project.

“Any engineering changes that make the roads safer are always encouraged and supported by the MCG. We will be supporting more such initiatives in the future as well,” said SS Rohilla, public relations officer (PRO), MCG.