The City Police and 14 private schools have taken up efforts to decongest school zones to reduce traffic snarls on the busy roads in the mornings and evenings. As part of the initiative, the schools were asked to allow the vehicles coming to pick-up and drop students inside the school premises. Vehicles should also use alternative roads near the schools and not congest the main road.
These decisions were taken at the meeting chaired by City Police Commissioner A. Amalraj here on Wednesday to kick-start the efforts. Deputy Commissioners (DC) of Police R. Sivakumar (Traffic) and Pa. Moorthy (Headquarters), Chief Education Officer N. Arul Murugan, traffic police officers and correspondents and principals of schools participated in the meeting.
After reopening of schools, congestion was back in all school zones. Complaints on congestions at those points reaching the police were on the rise, following which the meeting was organised for select schools on a priority basis. The meeting was aimed at regulating the vehicles operated by schools, parents of students and other private vehicles transporting students.
In the first phase, 14 schools causing congestions on the Trichy Road, Avinashi Road, Sathy Road, Thadagam Road and D.B. Road were identified. The traffic police then studied the possibility of regulating the traffic through alternative roads close to the school, changing the school timing and other possibilities and came out with a few suggestions.
“Changing the school time was not practically possible. Schools have agreed to make use of alternative roads close to the school compound and to allow all the pick-up and drop vehicles inside the school,” Mr. Sivakumar said. Eight schools have also agreed to make optimum use of the roads close to the schools and avoid congesting the main road.
Of the 14 schools, there was no possibility of using alternative routes for six schools – viz. PSGR Krishnammal Higher Secondary School (HSS), GRG Matriculation HSS, PSGG Kanya Gurukulam Girls HSS, G. Ramasamy Naidu Matriculation HSS and Padmavathi Ammal HSS on Avinashi Road and Vimal Jothi HSS on Sathy Road.
However, all the schools were also ready to make alterations in the entrance and create exit gates on their premises. For this purpose, traffic police officers on Wednesday started visiting the schools individually and suggested changes. These institutions will sensitise the users and stakeholders. “On the successful traffic regulation and implementation of changes in these schools, we are planning to carry out similar changes at a few others schools on priority basis,” the deputy commissioner added.
