Chandigarh education dept calls meeting with schools to tackle Sector-26 gridlock

Looking to tackle the perennial traffic chaos on the Sector 26 road that is enveloped by five schools, the UT education department is planning to meet all stakeholders on April 9 to figure out a solution.
The schools on this road include Sri Guru Gobind Singh Collegiate Public School, St John’s High School, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Strawberry Fields High School and St Kabir Public School. Apart from them, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College and Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) , Punjab, are also located on the same stretch, leading to heavy traffic movement in the morning and afternoon.
To address the resultant snarls, UT director school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar has sent a letter to the principals of these schools, college and UT senior superintendent of police (SSP, Traffic).
Pointing out the daily blockage of the 1-km stretch in front of the schools, the letter states that some schools have deployed traffic coordinators, while others have not. Stating that the UT administration had already notified a Safe Transportation Policy for Students (STRAPS), where the role of all stakeholders had been delineated, the director invited them for a meeting regarding this on April 9.
“We will also ask schools to provide us data like strength of students, and how many of them come on buses or are dropped off in private vehicles,” Brar said, adding that solutions like carpooling will be discussed.
Traffic police using one-way system
Currently, the traffic police have imposed a one-way system here between 7.30 am and 8.30 am and then between 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm, allowing traffic to exit the road only towards St Kabir Public School.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Traffic East) Dilbagh Singh said at least five, cops including an assistant sub-inspector, were deployed on this road to control traffic bottlenecks at the time of arrival and departure of students.
“The primary issue is that there is no parking space on this road. Sometimes MGSIPA also holds events, where VIP movement is involved, that we also have to deal with. To ensure smooth traffic movement, we challan people for wrong parking on the road,” he added.
‘Bus-pooling can help’
Suggesting ways to solve the traffic problem, administrator of St Kabir Public School, Gurpreet Bakshi said the schools in this area should consider bus-pooling as they all start and finish at the same time. “This system is used in Delhi as well where students get bus passes on government-run buses. CTU can pitch in here. This will reduce the number of buses, as each school has separate buses that leads to congestion,” he said.
Director of Strawberry Fields High School, Atul Khanna said it was a welcome move to deliberate on the issue: “The one-way system imposed by traffic cops makes a big difference. If implemented better, the issue can be resolved.”
St John’s High School in 2022 had started a policy to only allow carpool cars inside the school to encourage carpooling. However, vehicles not allowed entry further added to the traffic chaos on the road outside.
While the campuses of St John’s High School and Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School are spacious enough to allow parents to drive in to collect their wards safely, other schools lack the space, which forces parents to pick and drop their children on the road.