Consider leaving kids a short distance away from school to ease congestion

We thank Mr Steven Lim for his suggestions to mitigate traffic congestion outside schools (Look into congestion happening outside schools, Jan 14).

Students are encouraged to make use of school buses and public transport to travel to and from school. This builds independence and inculcates environmentally sustainable habits in our children.

There are school protocols in place to manage vehicular movement within the campus during assembly and dismissal periods. For example, schools may deploy traffic marshals to direct cars coming into schools during peak periods and have designated places for drivers to pick up or drop off students.

At schools' discretion, school staff may be deployed at locations such as signalised pedestrian crossings and drop-off points to ensure students' safe commuting. Parent volunteers may also help to encourage good road safety habits by reminding students to look out for traffic.

Road safety is a shared responsibility. Parents play an important role in modelling positive road safety behaviour for our children.

To keep the roads around school zones safe for all road users, parents are reminded to always abide by traffic rules and the schools' traffic management policies. These may be conveyed through joint engagement efforts in collaboration with the relevant authorities when necessary.

It is not ideal for schools to have to facilitate the drop-off of every student within the campus in the mornings, and to do so will inevitably result in significant traffic congestion. Where possible, parents should consider dropping off their children a short distance away from school and let them complete the last stretch of journey to school on foot. This will help to ease traffic congestion around the campus and better ensure the safety of the school community.

Ong Chun Kiat
Divisional Director
Infrastructure and Facility Services Division
Ministry of Education