Protecting children as they travel to and from school garners strong community support for robust safety measures. These improvements not only safeguard children but also benefit all road users in school zones.
Over the past decade, we’ve worked extensively on road and street design around schools. From our experience and research, the main factors influencing road safety risks in these areas include:
𝗩𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀: Lower speeds greatly reduce crash likelihood and severity.
𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀: Higher numbers increase the potential for conflicts.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀: The number and direction of lanes affect risk levels.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲: Busier roads present higher safety challenges.
𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵: Wider roads can be more difficult for pedestrians to cross safely.
𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Is it primary, secondary, boys, girls, or co-ed?
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀: The type and presence of crossing infrastructure matter.
𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Whether crossings are supervised can make a difference.
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀: Pick-up/drop-off zones and public transport stops influence pedestrian movements.
𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀: Clear visibility at crossings is critical for safety.
While each location needs to be assessed individually, these factors provide a strong framework for evaluating school crossing risks.
In the last 10 years, we’ve conducted detailed assessments of over 180 school crossings, focusing on design elements that could increase crash risks for children and supervisors. A recurring issue across Australia is that School Crossing Supervisors often work in live traffic with limited risk management controls. These are conditions that wouldn’t be acceptable in other worksite traffic management scenarios, yet remain culturally tolerated.
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