ABU DHABI // Streets near Abu Dhabi schools will soon be made safer thanks to a road works project by the municipality.
Elevated pedestrian crossings and speed humps, as well as red surface-markings on roads, will be installed around schools as part of the Schools Traffic Safety project to ensure motorists drive slower and pay greater attention in these areas.
“You always see children running around when class is finished,” said Amelie Ranta, a mother-of-two. “It is very dangerous because if one driver loses focus for a split second, that could be a child’s life. So such initiatives are really important.”
Other measures to be taken include improved pick-up and drop-off points for school buses and signs for school zones and student crossings at entrances to a school area.
Speed limits around schools will not exceed 30kph.
“These measures are good but it all depends on the school,” said Nicola Al Mazrouei, who has three children attending Mubarak bin Mohammed school in Al Bateen and Al Reem school in Muroor.
“With the new school buildings the guidelines are so that it is much safer when you drive inside the school so children do not have to go out. But for old schools, we still see traffic police in the mornings when the traffic is quite heavy. They have staff outside stopping traffic when children cross the roads.”
Although her children take the school bus, Ms Al Mazrouei said any improvements could only be beneficial.
The project will include schools on and off Abu Dhabi island. It will improve construction entries, parking and streets leading to schools, as well as pick-up and drop-off areas for parents and crossing areas to and from a school.
The municipality said the objective was to create safer infrastructure to maintain the safety of students and their parents, as well as teachers and drivers. It said children were considered to be the most vulnerable to accidents.
Work is expected to finish in July in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, the Department of Transport, Abu Dhabi Police and the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
cmalek@thenational.ae