Just when I was about to write this article related to road safety in school environments, I get news about the school bus that has been injured a few hours ago in Xàtiva (Valencia). So before developing the conditions so that the surroundings of a school are safe, I would like everyone to reread this oldest post about school transport.
We return to the school environment, and to the safety of children when they must access to school. No one is aware that cities are not intended for children (if they were, children should not be locked in playgrounds to play, for example). Each of the schools should be equipped with prevention and safety measures in their environment.
The search for solutions at the local level, It would have an impact on mobility benefits for the entire population, as well as more peace of mind for families with school-age children.. The protection of the most vulnerable should be prioritized. I propose an observation exercise: early in the morning, count the vehicles that arrive at the first zebra crossing near the school at inadequate speed, and those that climb up the sidewalk with passersby (especially children) nearby. Refine your eyes a little more and then tell me the number of children who go without a safety device (or with it but without binding). Recklessness will comment many more, but for me these are the most obvious.
In the National Association of Child Safety, they tell us that 'families must meet the protection requirements that minors need'; and that 'those responsible for road management and mobility must establish the bases to create these environments under the preventive criteria they require (together with schools and families)'
Requirements for the school environment to be safe
Road of circulation: must be pedestrian or limited to 30 kilometers per hour. If it is a one-way street, more prominence is given to pedestrians and the number of cars that support the area is reduced.
Signaling: drivers must be informed by vertical signage or marked surface vials, so that extreme precautionary measures are taken.
Traffic lights: the variable time regulation, facilitates pedestrian mobility at times of maximum agglomeration (entrances and exits), as well as road traffic during the rest of the time. In the case of wide crossings, they must have pedestrian shelters to house several people.
Speed reducers, these devices so annoying for some drivers, get a significant slowdown before crosswalks.
As mothers and fathers we have a very important educational work when we accompany the children: there will come a day when they go alone (for me and in case of my elder has already arrived). That is why it is crucial that we cross the crosswalks, that we do not transit between cars that are running, that we wait for the green traffic light, and that we respect the signaling of local police officers. So we are sending messages that internalize, and tools to use in the future
Crosswalks must be elevated or with sidewalk recesses, they must also derive the closest to the access door to the educational center.
Sidewalks and driveway: the state of conservation must be optimal, avoiding falls to minors with developing motor skills. The width of them must be established based on the agglomeration of people, schoolchildren and baby chairs, being wide enough to house them.
In the case of street furniture its location and distribution should not in any case involve the visual obstruction of pedestrians and driversNor should it obstruct the crossing steps or the reduction of sidewalks.
As for parking, so-called online ones are recommended, avoiding battery ones (for invasion of roadway before a mistake or imprudence). Likewise, car parks located in the main access areas or near the center must have security features such as panoramic viewing mirrors to avoid unintentional accidents when leaving these spaces.
In the case of first cycle centers of Infant Education, or Pavilions of Infant Education in schools, there should be parking areas with limited time to respond to the need for time and space to ensure (and release) with peace of mind to Children in their chairs and elevators.
As I said, families (or education professionals) have a lot to say, using the channels we have within our reach. For example, if the access street to the school is very narrow, and in addition to the entry and exit times there are many badly parked cars, solutions can be demanded through the AMPA of the school, or by interviewing the town councilor of the Town Hall.
I still have a paragraph that complements this post and has to do with school transportation, it will help us to refresh information and to understand the importance of protecting children during the trip to school, or in the vicinity of this. I will continue tomorrow.
