School safety remains an afterthought in the city, despite repeated promises of safe school zones made by successive govts. Unsafe pavements, wrong-side driving, haphazard parking and garbage dumping and poor enforcement by traffic police and Greater Chennai Corporation routinely put children at risk.In 2022, then chief minister M K Stalin, at the first meeting of Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (Cumta), directed officials to strengthen school-zone safety. More recently, chief minister C Joseph Vijay announced 15km of safe school access corridors across the city. But experts point out that there is gap between announcements and enforcement.A TOI ground check of some localities found that infrastructure alone has done little to ensure safety, with poor enforcement and coordination between agencies allowing several problems to return. The 2.2-km Cumta pilot covering Avvai Shanmugam Road, Conran Smith Road and Padmavathy Road, where several schools are located, is a case in point. GCC completed work on the stretch last year, providing wider footpaths, zebra crossings, dedicated parking bays for school vehicles, designated pick-up and drop-off points, colourful walls and accessible footpaths. But much of that work has since been undermined.School vans are still parked along the stretch, reducing the carriageway, while shops have again encroached on footpaths. So, children are forced to share the road with vehicles instead of using the infrastructure created specifically for them. “Children cannot walk safely. Police do not clear the vans and GCC does not clear the encroachments either,” said M Gokulakrishnan, whose daughter studies at one of the schools.The problem extends beyond the Cumta pilot. Outside ELM Fabricius Higher Secondary School on Purasaiwalkam High Road, the footpath is obstructed at several points, including by two pencil-style bollards installed as part of a beautification drive. Garbage bins occupy portions of the walkway, while the footpath abruptly ends at some points.A community garden built along the school compound wall has also become a dumping spot, according to school principal Arul Prakash. “Govt should stop constructing such things near schools,” he said.In Royapuram, the safety concern is more basic. A transformer unit is located directly outside the gate of Kalaimagal Vidhayala High School at Rajarathinam Nagar. “We have asked the EB multiple times to relocate the power units, but they say they will be unable to do so,” said principal R Indumathi.School heads also flagged the presence of fast-food outlets and roadside vendors around school zones as a concern. In Triplicane, several pushcarts and roadside shops have narrowed Big Street, the road leading to Hindu Nursery and Primary School. “While the govt wants schools to present a sanitary certificate, the civic body should ensure that school zones are clear of such encroachments,” said principal A Raja.Wrong-side driving adds another layer of risk, particularly during school opening and closing hours. Parents and teachers said enforcement has to be an integral part of any safe-school programme rather than an occasional exercise.“Lack of speed breakers and crossings near school zones endangers the lives of students. The govt must ensure that school zones have the presence of traffic police personnel to fine violators and ensure student safety. While a few areas such as Gopalapuram, Kilpauk and Santhome do enforce this, it must spread throughout the city,” said S Arumainathan, president of the TN Students Parents Welfare Association.Traffic police said that the primary focus at the moment was to enforce the helmet rule for both parents and children and curbing wrong-side driving. “In the last 10 days, we launched an awareness drive in school zones, with traffic police personnel meeting parents and urging them to ensure that they and their wards aged over 4 wear helmets while coming to schools. A target of 587 schools has been set, and 313 have been completed so far. For wrong-side driving, including in school-zones, 1.9 lakh cases have been booked since last Sept,” said B Shamoondeshwari, Additional Commissioner of Police, GCTP.A GCC official said that they have already started work on the Safe School Access Network. “We will ensure that the city has safe, child-friendly streets that enable children to walk and cycle to school independently and safely. We will adopt a network-based approach, having a safe school access network extends beyond individual school entrances to create continuous and connected walking and cycling routes throughout school catchment areas, ensuring safe access between schools, homes, parks, public transport, and other community destinations,” said an official.Urban planners say that effective communication and bringing all stakeholders on-board are essential for implementing safe schools project. “Awareness has to be created through markings and signs to effectively inform commuters that they are entering a school zone. They should also be sensitised to what and what not to do in a school zone,” Ashwathy Dilip, MD, ITDP(With inputs from Vivek Narayanan)
