Parents take-up initiative to tackle traffic problem during school peak hours

Parents take-up initiative to tackle traffic problem during school peak hours

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru: August 15, 2015: The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of St Theresa School, Bendur on Friday got down to the brass tacks to tackle the traffic problem -- to ensure children’s safety and ensure smooth flow of traffic at that junction.

 

On Friday, the traffic was less chaotic as parents ensured the new PTA guidelines were followed.

The guidelines directed parents to "stop, drop/ pick and go and not to park’’ vehicles on the road near the school gate. The children dropped by vehicles were picked up by volunteers and taken into the school, which saved parking time of at least 10-15 minutes, the main cause of holding up of traffic.

PTA vice-president Stella Roche said this was a part of ’Kids safety, My priority’ campaign and members were taking small steps towards implementing it.

With traffic police not around and signals not working between 8am and 8.20am, the road is a real challenge for traffic management given the narrow carriageway with a divider in between.

Maxim Moras, who has been ferrying children to school for 25 years, acts as a traffic warden for the past two years. On Friday, he was leading from the front. He said: "One of the major reasons for the block is bigger vehicles coming with a single child, parking, dropping the child inside the school and then parents move the vehicles only after 10-15 minutes after chatting with others. They should just drop and leave and volunteers should take children inside the school."

Another reason is that parents park in double lines at the entrance which completely blocks traffic, Moras added. After dropping school children, he doubles as a traffic warden for 30 to 40 minutes at that junction.

Road users said the authorities should allow school pick-up vehicles to come into the school premises and this will ease the traffic gridlock. The last time this proposal was mooted, the school dropped it as police said the onus would be on the school if any child gets hurt on the school premises.