Ashghal School Zone Safety Programme is nearing completion of safety measures in 541 schools

Ashghal School Zone Safety Programme is nearing completion of safety measures in 541 schools

The School Zone Safety Programme of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is nearing completion, with the authority having adopted safety measures around 541 schools so far.

Safety measures are being implemented around 31 schools as part of the initiative, Ashghal stated in a tweet yesterday. The renovations will be carried out in 583 schools in all. According to Ashghal data, work on the entire number of schools covered by the School Zone Safety Programme has been completed to the tune of 93 percent.

Medians and roundabouts to manage traffic flow; restricting the maximum speed to 30km/h; and implementing and maintaining special needs requirements on roadways are among the school zone safety measures.

School zone safety methods include providing more parking, speed bumps with particular specifications, red markings to inform cars about school entrances, installing warning signs, and building safe pedestrian walkways.

Eng. Hassan AlHamadi, Head of Highways Operation and Maintenance Section, said in a statement shared on Authority’s Twitter: “Ashghal always gives students’ safety high priority. We started with 10 Schools in 2013 & today we have completed work on 541 schools, as part of the National Road Safety Strategy.”

Ashghal prioritizes the program to improve traffic safety in the surrounding areas as part of the National Traffic Safety Strategy (2013-2022) implementation to reduce traffic congestion in these areas, separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic, improve temporary unpaved roads, and ensure the safety of students and parents upon arrival or departure from school, according to Ashghal's website.

The School Zone Safety Program also tries to alleviate traffic congestion around schools, which is exacerbated by a shortage of parking spaces, walkways, and pathways.

The designs that will produce traffic safety requirements in school zones will be determined based on the findings of a research conducted by Ashghal's Road Operation and Maintenance department, and they will be amended based on comments from school officials.

The designs that will produce traffic safety requirements in school zones will be determined based on the findings of a research conducted by Ashghal's Road Operation and Maintenance department, and they will be amended based on comments from school officials.

The initiative attempts to provide safe roadways in school zones by constructing medians and small roundabouts to regulate traffic flow in certain locations. These renovations also involve the installation of an adequate number of directional signs and road markings near schools. Furthermore, the speed limit in school zones will be reduced to 30 km/h, and speed bumps will be built to limit speed.