City admin issues guidelines to regulate & ease traffic snarls outside Lucknow schools

The terrible traffic snarls outside Lucknow schools have been a cause of concern for all, whether it is the students, school staff, guardians or any passer-by. As a result, the schools have become a major reason for increased vehicular congestion on the arterial roads as well as colony roads during peak hours.

To counter this major issue, the district administration is working on war-footing to regulate and ease the traffic woes in Lucknow.

In the same strive, the authorities have banned vending carts outside schools. The directive, effective immediately, is said to be helpful in preventing traffic jams during school dispersal time.

It was being noticed the vending carts outside schools were primary cause of traffic and congestion outside schools. After a meeting between nodal officers from schools, traffic police and district administration officials, a guideline has been drafted and issued to prevent vehicular congestion during peak times.

As per the guideline, apart from these vending carts, parking of no other vehicle will be allowed on the main road connecting schools in the city. Instead of roaming on the road after school, students will now be directed to sit inside their buses, cabs or other vehicles as soon as possible.

Additionally, parents or guardians who intend to pick up with wards after school must park their vehicles at least 1 kilometre away from the school. While there will be no long stoppage during opening and closing hours, they will be allowed to pick up their child near the school entry point and move at the earliest to keep the traffic unhindered. School authorities have been directed to inform all the parents and guardians about the same during a parent-teacher meeting.

Notably, the city administration has also directed schools to deploy guards to manage traffic during peak hours. Under the supervision of teachers outside schools, these guards will also ensure all vehicles ferrying students are parked at their designated spots.

Piyush Mordia, the Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order issued an eight-point advisory to all the schools and colleges in the city. The advisory directed the school administration to deploy marshals outside school gates to streamline traffic movement in the area. Additionally, schools have been directed to disperse students in a phased manner with a gap of 20 minutes.

Talking about this advisory, the President of Unaided Private School Association Anil Agarwal stated that it is essentially the duty of the traffic police to clear snarls everywhere, even outside schools. Schools might be able to appoint a representative to manage traffic but teachers will not be able to stand and supervise, added Mr. Agarwal. While this move has been taken in the right spirit, the feasibility of the same remains unclear.

-With inputs from IANS.