mid-day campaign: Traffic jams, narrow roads plague 3 schools in MMR

Vasant Vihar High SchoolThaneResidents of Pokhran Road avoid stepping out when the Vasant Vihar High School begins and gets over for the day due to the traffic chaos caused by its buses and private vehiclesThe issue here is not just the school buses but the several rickshaws and vehicles on the narrow road which leave only one lane free as it is a commercial area The honking and traffic jams start as soon as the school buses begin after students board them Private cars coming for children have to be parked in lanes farther away from the school as there is no space left near itMajor problems faced by all schoolsNarrow roads and road repairsCars picking up childrenAbsence of traffic policeThe traffic congestion outside St Marys Multipurpose School is cause for concern for parents residents and patients from a nearby hospital PicSneha KharabeSt Marys Multipurpose High SchoolVashiThis school is located on one of the busiest roads in Vashi with two other schools well as the NMMC hospital where everyday more than 500 patients visit Despite slotting different school hours for primary and secondary classes traffic congestion continues to be a cause for concern for parents local residents and patients Many times an ambulance is stuck in trafficThe school has three gates As soon as the bell rings some of the students race to the gates There are school buses some private vans and autorickshaws to drop the children home Drivers of the auto rickshaws wait in front of the gate until all the students who will be crammed into the vehicle arrive Parents who come to drop or pick up children in their own vehicle park it opposite the school As there are no traffic police at the junction outside the school students who learn the management of traffic and the school bus conductors handle the trafficTrafficpolicespeakAmit Kale DCP Traffic police Kalyan and ThaneOur officers are always present there during school timings But I will check and look into the issue for a solutionSatish Gaikwad Superintendent of police Traffic Vashi We asked the schools to create gates behind their buildings to resolve the traffic issueA super market and a petrol pump near the KCG English School means there is always a traffic issue on the roadKantaben Chandulal Gandhi English SchoolKalyanKantaben Chandulal Gandhi English School is situated near Gandhi Nagar on RP Road On the same road just in front of school is a super market and a petrol pump Hence there is always a traffic issue on the road and it is crowded Parents who come to pick up their children face problems due to this Residents said almost every day they have altercations with rash drivers Though there are different school timings for the primary and secondary classes traffic congestion continues to be cause for concern for parents and local residents There is no traffic police deputed hereSchoolsspeakAn officer Vasant Vihar school managementWe have made proper lanes for children to enter the school as well as for parents We always tell parents not to park their cars or vehicles on the other side of the road We often hold meetings with traffic police to solve issuesChandrabhan GhegadmalPrincipal KCG English secondary schoolTo resolve the chaos we allowed twowheelers and school buses to be parked in our school ground We have also deputed two security guards for traffic management during school timings We also opened our second back gate to pick up small kids during the afternoon timeA member Management of St Marys School VashiWe created another gate behind the school where we allowed some people to pick up the children because of which 20 of the traffic congestion is sorted During every parentsteachers meeting we tell parents not to park their vehicles in front of the school We have also requested traffic police to make this road one way just for one hour a day to control this problemVoicesAshok BA local resident Pokhran RoadBetween 1230 pm and 130 pm as also in the evening there is complete chaos with many vehicles blocking the road I always avoid coming out to the market at these times Drivers dont even bother when they see a senior citizen on the road They drive rashlyAshlesha BabarParent of a student of KCG English SchoolJust beside the school is a petrol pump Every day drivers who come to fill petrol drive on the wrong side A month ago when I was going back home with my son a biker came from the wrong side The broken stand of his bike scratched me so badly that I had to get four stitches The bike rider was rude and started arguing with me instead of apologising Its a daily issue that traffic police dont pay any attention toGanesh MikheA resident of VashiAs there is a hospital nearby many patients come here When the students leave there is more traffic congestion than usual If a traffic cop is deputed at the signal traffic management will improve and it will be safer for children to cross the road We usually avoid stepping out during school timings because we get stuck in traffic for at least an hour on this roadCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates