The Safe Stop program, implemented at the initiative of mayor Enrique Cresto, proposes a methodology to organize the arrival and departure of students at school and, in turn, improve traffic coexistence. The proposal is adapted to the characteristics and surroundings of the establishments, prioritizing public transport and pedestrian mobility.
Within the framework of the actions carried out by the Mobility Coordination, a project was launched that involves the entire educational community, families, and residents with the objective of organizing the arrival and departure of students at schools.
Double parking at school arrival and departure times is a constant problem for traffic. In this context, the Safe Stop system was created, a project to make circulation at schools more orderly and safe.
The Secretary of Government and Treasury, Aldo Álvarez, highlighted that “by decision of mayor Cresto, we are advancing in the implementation of this program, which we are working on together with school principals and residents. In this sense, we are improving traffic management in educational spaces and increasing road safety for students and the residents themselves. The impact has been positive,” the official commented.
“Organizing the arrival and departure of schools, improving traffic management in the surroundings of educational establishments, and increasing road safety for students and neighborhood residents were the objectives we set for ourselves when launching this program,” added Diego Santana, General Coordinator of Mobility of the Municipality of Concordia.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
The General Coordination of Mobility of the Municipality of Concordia worked on the improvement and placement of signage and signals for the schools that integrated the first stage of the project (Bachillerato Humanista, San José, Mitre, NEA, and Comercio N°1).
In addition, with each of the school institutions, families are made aware of road safety and the simple changes we propose through “Safe Stop.” With the help of the entire educational community, solutions that promote good coexistence in the area were put into practice, such as:
-Organizing the arrival and departure of students according to the chosen means of transport. In this way, they are divided into three groups in order of priority: - School transport. - Pedestrians. - Private vehicles, remises, and taxis.
- A zone called “Safe” was established at the different school entrances, so that the drop-off and pick-up of students is orderly, agile, and safe.
- An exclusive area was determined for the drop-off and pick-up of children for both school transport and cars.
Also, it is important to highlight that each school has reserved spaces (standard car measurements) or, if necessary, the entire block for the correct functioning of the program, where the goal was to speed up the drop-off and pick-up of children to avoid traffic jams and double parking.
In each of the operations of this program, agents from the Traffic and Transport Center participate, verifying that everything functions normally during the usual arrival and departure times of the schools adhering to the system. In addition, it will be monitored that there are no vehicles in “Safe Stop” zones; otherwise, they will be towed for being illegally parked.
AWARENESS
From the municipality, through the Traffic and Transport Center, residents are requested to take precautions when driving and to respect the regulations. It is important to proceed to drive outside the safe stop. At the same time, residents who take students to school establishments are asked that it is essential that when positioning themselves in the “Safe Stop,” they do not turn off the vehicle engine, since the student should only get out and then continue driving.