Further engineering upgrades at School No. 12 in Sumgayit enhance safety and showcase of best practice
In 2023, EASST and the National Automobile Club of Azerbaijan (AMAK) installed a new ‘Safe School Zone’ at School No. 12 in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan – with the support of the Safer Roads Foundation and FIA Foundation. This work included high-profile ‘School Zone’ signage, a newly painted zebra crossing, and a new LED signal-controlled pedestrian crossing.
The work was carried out in partnership with the State Traffic Police Department, the Sumgayit City Executive Power, and Absheron-Khizi Regional Education Office. Prior to this, the school had been identified by local traffic police as extremely high risk, with 18 serious crashes being recorded in the vicinity of the school between 2019-2022 – accounting for four deaths and 14 serious injuries.
Since the initial installations, we have continued working with the school leadership and the Sumgayit Traffic Police to further enhance road safety in the area. Speed limits were initially reduced from 60 to 40km/h, before being lowered again to 30km/h in 2024. Now we have installed additional bollards to prevent parking immediately next to the crossing, and upgraded the crossing and ‘School Zone’ markings with thermoplastic paint to increase visibility and longevity. We have also delivered several awareness-raising sessions with parents and students of the school.
We are proud to say that there have been no injuries or deaths since the crossing was installed.
Beyond saving lives, this project has been groundbreaking as a capacity building exercise for local authorities, police, engineers, and designers. Through daily communication and ongoing collaboration, we have brought the Traffic Police and Sumgayit authorities on the journey with us – building awareness of the Safe System Approach and offering practical experience of what it takes to build truly safe school zones. With every iteration, we have had the opportunity to learn and assess through experience and on-the-ground challenges what works well and what needs more attention.
School No. 12, along with schools No. 2 and No. 4 – where we have implemented similar changes, now stand as best practice models upon which new norms for school zone infrastructure can be developed across Azerbaijan. The project has established a methodology and approach that can be adapted and tailored by local authorities in other regions of the country. The final stages of the project will include sharing our experience and learning with key stakeholders with the hopes that they will be taken up and expanded to provide a safer journey to and from school for every child in Azerbaijan.