Abu Dhabi: Areas around schools in the emirate, including parking lots, roadways and lanes, will be refurbished by July to enhance safety standards, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has announced
Schools are being listed so that contractors and consultants can be informed about the areas that need work, the statement added. These include constructing, modifying and maintaining the entryways, parking lots and the lanes leading to schools.
The works are being undertaken as part of the School Traffic Safety Project, which was launched in 2012 by the municipality in collaboration with the emirate’s transportation regulator, the Department of Transport, and the education sector regulator, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), the Abu Dhabi Police and the strategic urban authority, the Urban Planning Council.
The initiative was rolled out to enhance the safety of pupils around educational institutions, and to ease congestion at peak hours. At its introduction in 2012, municipality officials had said that five children were killed and 80 injured while travelling to and from school between 2007 and 2010, and the aim was to prevent such accidents. In addition, such risks also force many parents to use private transportation options for children which, in turn, increase the congestion in these zones.
According to the municipality, the works will include erecting speed bumps, setting up crossing areas and road signs that indicate that the area is a designated school zone. Speed limits will be reduced to 30km/h in these localities, and pick-up and drop-off points will be allocated for schoolbuses.
In addition, road surfaces will be painted red to indicate the mandatory reduced speed limit for vehicles.
As reported by Gulf News, the DoT announced last September (2014) that areas around 227 public schools would be completely refurbished by the end of the year. Authorities also ensure that areas around newly built schools adhere to these transportation standards.
