Encroachments outside ELM Frabicius school at Purasaiwalkam
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. 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. More recently, chief minister C Joseph Vijay announced 15km of safe school access corridors across the city.
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. 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. Kilpauk and Santhome do enforce this, it must spread throughout the city,” said S Arumainathan, president of the TN Students Parents Welfare Association While a few areas such as Gopalapuram.
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. 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. 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. 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. “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.
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.