Experts of road safety and high officials of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) emphasised on public transport instead of private car, designated pick-up and drop-off points, and safe infrastructure to facilitate walking from these points in order to ensure safe access to educational institutions for students.
They said these at a day-long workshop titled ‘Safe Access to School’ held at the auditorium of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Saturday (November 9, 2024), organised by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) program, this training workshop was conducted to enhance the skills and capacity of DNCC engineers.
Chief Executive Officer (Additional Secretary) of the DNCC Mir Khairul Alam spoke at the opening ceremony of the workshop as the chief guest.
DNCC’s Chief Engineer Brig. Gen. Md. Moin Uddin spoke as an honored guest. Superintendent Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam, BIGRS Initiative Coordinator Md. Abdul Wadud and Joint Commissioner (Traffic – Dhaka North) Sufian Ahmed also shared remarks. Technical Advisor at Vital Strategies Aminul Islam Sujon moderated the opening session.
Mir Khairul Alam said, DNCC is working to create safer city for everyone in its jurisdiction. In this regard, it is important to ensure safety on footpaths and roads. Therefore, DNCC is working with relevant government stakeholders to create safer footpaths and roads.
Brig. Gen. Md. Moin Uddin said, DNCC started collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) from 2021. As a partner in this program, the World Resources Institute (WRI) is providing knowledge and technical expertise to support DNCC. Under this initiative, the road adjacent to Banani Bidyaniketan School in Dhaka has already been upgraded to be more pedestrian- and child-friendly. Additionally, a project is underway at Mohammadpur Bus Stand to ensure safe pedestrian movement and crossing.
Md. Abdul Wadud said, this particular workshop aims to develop design skills to ensure safe access to educational institutions for students of all ages by providing the City Corporation and its partners with the necessary infrastructure design skills.
During the lecture series of the workshop, WRI Assistant Consultant Arina Tahneem highlighted the importance of safe system approach to access to the schools in our country’s context.
Architect and Urban designer Mustasim Mahmud Khan discussed the barriers to safe travel to schools, emphasizing that, “We need public transport over personal vehicles for safe student travel, designated pick-up and drop-off points, and secure infrastructure to facilitate walking from these points to the school gates are mandatory to enable the safe approach.”
In the primary lecture on design principles, WRI Sustainable Cities Program Consultant Architect Farzana Islam Toma explained the guidelines for developing safe school zone designs and the process for providing effective solutions.
She noted, “We frequently hear about road crashes in front of educational institutes, but we often overlook the fact that safe design of infrastructures can significantly reduce these incidents. This workshop provided practical training on creating pedestrian-friendly designs, enabling DNCC and other partners to apply these methods to other educational institutions to create safe zones across the city.”
Alongside lectures, the workshop included hands-on technical training where participants, based on the lectures, developed solutions for three actual sites.
The participants were divided into six groups to practice the design principles. WRI Assistant Consultant Arina Tahneem, BIGRS Transport Coordinator Rezaur Rahman and others supported the group design sessions.
Engineers from various DNCC regions participated in the workshop. These engineers are responsible for planning, constructing, and implementing projects across Dhaka North.
Additionally, officers from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Traffic Division and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) also participated.
The workshop was attended by Md. Golam Hossian, Enforcement Coordinator and Dr. Tanvir Ibn Alim, Surveillance Coordinator of BIGRS-Dhaka North and officials from DNCC’s Traffic Engineering and Public Relations division were present.
