Public Association ‘Road Safety’ partner with Peshcom Bishkek to demonstrate how a small tactical urbanism intervention can improve school zone road safety

Earlier this month, Public Association ‘Road Safety’ partnered with mobility NGO Peshcom to implement a tactical urbanism intervention around School No. 92 in Bishkek. The aim was to address the problem of chaotic parking around the school gates. This is a city-wide problem that increases road risk for children – who are often obscured from view when walking to and from school and crossing busy roads. It also creates congestion and, with many drivers idling their engines, worsens air quality.

The work was implemented as part of our Star Rating for Schools project, supported by the FIA ​​Foundation, which aims to set a new standard for how modern infrastructure can improve school zone safety across Kyrgyzstan, protecting lives and creating safer journeys for children.

School No. 92 was selected following Star Rating for Schools assessments conducted at five high-risk schools, with school No. 92 receiving the lowest possible 1-star rating. The assessment revealed parking around the school entrance to be causing particular safety risks, with high operational speeds and a lack of infrastructure also a problem.

The two organisations worked in collaboration with students of the Makerspace at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) to design and create bright, attractive infrastructural elements for the tactical urbanism intervention. This included brightly coloured Lego-style blocks made out of concrete and plywood to act as bollards, along with figures of children and a police officer, which were painted on-site with students from the school to foster a sense of co-ownership and responsibility for road safety around their school.

The bollards and figures were both installed at key points where children most often cross the road to restrict parking and block the ability to drive around speed bumps in a way that is visually appealing while clearly demarcating the school zone.

The results of the tactical intervention were immediately noticeable:

• Cars no longer drive around the speed bump and now slow down before crossing it, significantly improving safety in the area.
• Bollards effectively prevent chaotic parking along the entrance, freeing up space for safe pedestrian movement.
• Warning figures (requesting speed reduction to 30 km/h) were installed in the area where children cross the road.

The local school community and nearby residents were also surveyed to assess their perceptions of the interventions. 90% of respondents rated the new elements positively, with at least 80% of respondents expressing a desire for permanent interventions to physically separate the roadway from the pedestrian area and control pedestrian crossing areas based on the desire lines of the students.

As this element of the project draws to a close, EASST and Public Association ‘Road Safety’ will continue to monitor the impact of the intervention and how such low-cost measures can contribute to our ongoing advocacy efforts to introduce 30 km/h school zones nationwide, and support Kyrgyzstan’s national road safety goals to improve road infrastructure and design.