Children’s safety in school zones becomes a local priority in Cluj-Napoca

With increasingly congested urban traffic, ensuring children’s safety on their way to school has become a key priority for communities. The White Cross Foundation is launching the innovative project “Safe Roads to School,” an ambitious initiative aimed at improving road safety near educational institutions.

A Project with Multisectoral Support

Funded by the FIA Foundation (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), the project operates under the “Community for Safety Cluj” program and aligns with the Cluj-Napoca Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan 2021-2030. Key partners include Babeș-Bolyai University, the Cluj-Napoca City Hall, the Cluj County Police Inspectorate, the Cluj County School Inspectorate, and InIm Institute. This extensive collaboration ensures a strategic and sustainable approach to children’s road safety.

The project also supports the 2025 – 2027 National Priority Program for road safety, coordinated by the Ministry of Education and the Cluj County School Inspectorate.

Project Objectives

To improve safety conditions in school zones, the “Safe Roads to School” project aims to:

• Understand the real needs of students, parents, and teachers regarding their journeys to and from school.
• Implement concrete road safety measures, including advocacy for safe pedestrian and cyclist routes.
• Test the feasibility of a 30 km/h speed limit near school areas, a measure backed by numerous international studies on accident reduction.
  
  

These initiatives are part of the “Safe Schools” Program in Cluj-Napoca, which includes traffic calming interventions, infrastructure improvements, and community awareness initiatives.

Implementation Stages and Methods

The “Safe Roads to School” project consists of several key stages, each directly impacting children’s safety:

1. Qualitative Research (January – March 2025)

• Interviews and focus groups with teachers, parents, students, and local authorities to identify key road safety challenges and perceptions of walking or biking to and from school.
  
  

2. Road Infrastructure Assessment (February – April 2025)

• Use of the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) tool, developed by iRAP (International Road Assessment Programme), to measure school zone safety levels.
• Speed radar measurements to analyze vehicle speeds near schools and assess pedestrian and traffic flow.
• Pilot testing of a 30 km/h speed limit near three selected schools.
  
  

3. Participatory Research (April – May 2025)

• Active student involvement in reporting road conditions through the Youth Engagement App (YEA).
• Integration of student-collected data with SR4S assessments to create a detailed overview of school road safety.
• Use of an innovative data collection method, the Mosaic Approach, allowing students to participate actively by identifying dangerous areas through guided tours, photographs, and maps.
  
  

A Partnership for Children’s Safety

The project was officially launched on December 16, 2024, at a meeting hosted by the Department of Public Health at Babeș-Bolyai University. Strategies were presented to principals from 10 participating schools. Partners emphasize the importance of multisectoral collaboration for the initiative’s success:

• Prof. Marinela Marc, Cluj County School General Inspector:
  “Traffic accidents involving students are a real issue. Through education and concrete actions, we can improve children’s safety.”
  
  
• Rus Ileana, School Principal, “Tiberiu Popoviciu” Informatics High School, Cluj-Napoca:
  “It is essential for students to be actively involved in solutions that affect them. This project helps them become aware of the importance of road safety.”
  
  
• Rita Chenghe, Project Manager, InIm Institute:
  “Children’s safety shouldn’t just be a priority on paper. This project provides a best-practice model that can be applied nationwide.”
  
  

Expected Results and Community Impact

By implementing the “Safe Roads to School” project, Cluj-Napoca aims to become a best-practice model for other Romanian cities. Expected outcomes include:

• Increased awareness among students, parents, and the community about the importance of road safety.
• Development of a Best Practices Guide for Children’s Safety on their way to and from school, based on research findings and stakeholder needs. This guide will include policy recommendations and cost-effective strategies for improving road safety near schools, including clear 30 km/h zones.
• Establishment of a collaborative framework between local authorities, schools, and civil society to ensure safer urban mobility policies.