School timings worsening traffic woes remain a concern for parents and commuters

PIONEER EDGENEWS SERVICE/Dehradun

Many parents and commuters in Dehradun have expressed concerns about the traffic congestion they experience during peak times, due to closure time of schools exacerbating traffic woes. They noted that the school closure times are quite similar, which contributes to the congestion and delays commuters from reaching their destinations. They urged authorities to take action on this issue.

It’s worth noting that earlier in 2024, the administration had proposed adjusting school timings to alleviate congestion during the busy morning hours. The police anticipated that this change could reduce traffic congestion by approximately 60 per cent during peak hours on weekdays. However, a similar situation has arisen for parents and commuters once again.

A parent, Harsimran Kaur stated that her son is enrolled in a school located in the city centre. She said that several other schools are also situated nearby. According to her, there is a minor adjustment to the closure times at all the schools, varying by about two to five minutes. She usually drops off and picks up her son from school. However, during peak hours when all the schools close for the day, traffic congestion becomes a major issue, leading to disruptions on the roads. In light of this, she urged authorities to take action to ensure that there is a greater time variation among school closing times or that the routes taken differ for each school in the city centre.

Another parent, Rohit Jain shared similar concerns regarding the increased traffic resulting from multiple schools closing at the same time. As a parent, he voiced his concerns and urged authorities to reconsider the school closing times or routes so that both parents and commuters can avoid delays in reaching their destinations. Many other parents in Dehradun have expressed similar concern regarding this issue.

“My job primarily involves travelling to various locations throughout the day. Although traffic has increased over time, I observed that the traffic load peaks between 1 PM and 2 PM as many schools close for the day around that time. This creates significant congestion, especially in areas such as Astley Hall, Ghantaghar, Haridwar Road and the municipal corporation of Dehradun’s vicinity, among others. To mitigate this issue, I recommend that authorities recognise the concern shared by many commuters and direct schools to stagger their closing times, particularly those in close proximity to one another,” stated commuter Priyanshu Chaudhary.