Creating safer pathways to schools

New Delhi
In India’s megacities, school zones are often scenes of chaotic traffic where students of all ages are forced to navigate a perilous journey packed in often dangerously driven vans and buses, or dodging speeding vehicles and walking through into narrow spaces between parked cars. The combination of heavy traffic, poor pedestrian infrastructure, and lax enforcement of speed limits turns the daily commute into a scary ordeal, putting children’s safety at constant risk.
Fatalities among school children under 18 years of age have consistently risen in India, with increases of 6.4% in 2017, 6.6% in 2018, and 7.4% in 2019, according to data from the Union ministry of road transport and highways. This translates to an alarming rate of 31 children losing their lives daily.
Similarly, the “National Study on Safe Commute to School,” a 2021 report by the SaveLIFE Foundation and Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, found that nearly 30% of children witnessed a road crash during their commute to school, with 6% personally involved in a crash or a near-miss situation. Notably, Mumbai exceeded the national average in the number of children involved in accidents while commuting to and from school.
In recent years, cities, such as Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru and Mumbai, have launched pilot projects to establish “Safe School Zones” in response to the growing safety concerns around school commutes. A Safe School Zone is a designated area extending up to 300 feet around a school, where enhanced safety measures, such as enforced speed limits, redesigned roads, cycling tracks, wider footpaths, speed breakers, improved signage, and safe waiting areas, are implemented to protect students.
While this road safety initiative is common in the United States, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and parts of Europe, Delhi is the only city in India that has decided to implement Safe School Zones across the city after a successful pilot in Vasant Kunj, in south Delhi last month.
The project “250 Meters of Happiness” transformed the school street with infrastructure for walking and cycling, slow crossings, seating, and signage. It features interactive ground elements, including learning games and educational signs with numbers, letters, and math concepts. These playful markings engage children as they walk or wait, making their commute fun.
“India’s first school zone designed by children, this 250-meter street is now a safe zone serving four schools and around 10,000 students, exemplifying how infrastructure, safety, education, climate action, and community-government collaboration can be integrated into one project,” says Ruchi Varma, founder and CEO of HumanQind, the design consultant for the project.
Priyanka Tyagi, principal, DAV Public School, Vasant Kunj, said the road outside her school, once a source of chaos, is now an extension of the school itself. “Unlike before, there are now plenty of places for children and their parents to sit, play, and relax, making the space more enjoyable. Parents no longer have to anxiously wait in an unsafe environment, as they now have shaded seats to sit under trees,” Tyagi said, adding, “In fact, when our children were involved in designing these spaces, one of their main concerns was how their parents felt tired and unsafe while waiting for them.”
The Delhi government is now set to roll out its Safe School Zones project citywide. “We are pleased with the response to the pilot and aim to create 100 Safe School Zones across the city,” a senior official from Delhi’s transport department, closely involved in the project, said.
Other cities are following suit.
Earlier this month, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), in collaboration with the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) and traffic police, announced a pilot project in Gopalapuram, an area with 11 schools that sees daily traffic chaos as thousands of students and parents compete for space.
“We chose Gopalapuram due to its high density of schools and the safety risks posed by congestion. We’re implementing many design interventions to ensure children’s safety and aim to complete the project by March. If successful, we’ll expand it to other school zones across the city,” said Sivakrishnamurthy, deputy commissioner (works), GCC.
Harshitha Mruthyunjaya, managing director of Alcon Architects and consultant for the project, said that their study revealed the area includes both public and private schools catering to students from different socio-economic classes. While many students rely on private vehicles, others use public transport and cycles. The study found that footpaths were too narrow, uneven, and often obstructed by eateries and transformers. Furthermore, parked vehicles and large vans reversing near schools pose significant safety risks for children, compounded by long U-turns and speeding traffic.
“Our interventions include widening footpaths, designating specific pick-up, drop-off and parking zones, installing speed breakers and raised pedestrian crossings, and creating cycle stands and seating areas. We also plan to enhance the area’s visual appeal through art installations,” Mruthyunjaya said.
In recent years, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune have tried tactical urbanism to create Safe School Zones, although many initiatives remain pilot projects. In 2021, WRI India partnered with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Mumbai Traffic Police and Christ Church School to launch a safer school zone in Byculla under the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety. This project aimed to enhance pedestrian safety within a 500-metre radius around schools.
The pilot project focused on revamping zebra crossings with bright colours and installing speed breakers, signage, and painted paths to reduce jaywalking. The results were encouraging, with a 17% reduction in vehicle speeds near Christ Church and St Agnes Schools. These speed-calming measures, combined with educational signage, improved pedestrian safety, and raised awareness among drivers, creating a safer environment for children.
“The pilot tested several design elements to enhance access to the school safely. After monitoring the changes, we found that the new design performed better on all levels, with over 90% of users feeling safe accessing the school,” said Dhawal Ashar, programme head, integrated transport at WRI.
However, in most cities where WRI has conducted pilots with local authorities, only a few elements—primarily speed-calming measures—have been eventually adopted.
“There are several reasons for this. School gates are typically located on busy roads, meaning that if street space is rationed in a way that reduces the carriageway, it doesn’t easily get approved,” Ashar said.
“There’s also significant parking around these streets, which is often difficult to remove or relocate. In immediate school zones — 100-200 metres on either side of the gate — speed limits should be very low. To enforce this, we need permanent features, such as speed humps, but many believe these will disrupt traffic flow, so they too don’t always get approved. Thankfully, through audits and analysis, critical measures get approval,” Ashar said.
Experts attribute traffic congestion and safety hazards around schools to outdated planning that fails to address current population demands and rising vehicle ownership. Roads in front of schools were originally designed for a smaller population and fewer vehicles, but at present, the challenge is to adapt these areas to ensure the safety of schoolchildren in today’s urban environment.
AK Jain, former commissioner of planning at the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), said that when land was allocated for schools, guidelines were solely population-based. Areas with 10,000 residents were required to have a senior secondary school, while those with 5,000 residents were designated for a primary school. The roads in front of senior secondary schools were supposed to be at least 60 feet wide, and those for nursery schools 30 feet wide.
“However, no one anticipated the population explosion and the massive increase in cars over time. Today, the only solution is to redevelop these areas with a focus on the safety of schoolchildren,” Jain said.
Shreya Gadepalli, founder of the Urban Works Institute, emphasises that for a broader and more meaningful impact, cities should focus not just on safe school zones but on the “Safe Routes to School” concept. “The entire journey from home to school — whether by public transport, walking, or cycling — should be made safe. This requires designated paths, proper signage, traffic signals and safe crossings along the entire route,” she said.
Ashar concurs, highlighting the need to enhance overall city safety, which will naturally improve access to schools. “If the city is safe, not only will those walking and cycling to school be safer, but more people will be encouraged to do so. This depends on multiple factors — better public transport, safer access to it, and promoting its use. Until that happens, we should begin by assessing every school zone and prioritising actions that make it safer for children. We can’t rely on small pilots that may scale; we need pilots at scale,” he said.
Parent groups are calling for urgent, short-term interventions. “In many areas of Delhi with multiple schools, there are no signs to indicate a school zone. While large-scale redevelopment will take time, immediate measures, such as marking school zones, installing speed breakers and decongesting footpaths, must be implemented across the city,” Aprajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents Association, said.