I WOULD like to raise a concern that has persisted for many years at a secondary school in Petaling Jaya: the lack of a proper, structured and safe system for parents to pick up their children after school and during co-curricular activities.
At peak hours, parents are often forced to form two or even three lanes of vehicles along the road outside the school.
Children then have to weave between moving and stationary cars to reach their parents.
This is particularly concerning because heavy vehicles, including lorries, also use the road.
The result is congestion, confusion and, most importantly, a potentially dangerous environment for children.
What is particularly frustrating is that this situation appears to have become accepted as the norm.
Parents and students are left to navigate the chaos themselves, while there seems to be little visible coordination involving the school, traffic authorities or other relevant agencies to manage the flow effectively during peak periods.
SMK Damansara Jaya is situated in a well-developed and highly urbanised part of Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
It is therefore difficult to understand why such a basic issue of traffic management has remained unresolved for so long.
This is not simply a matter of inconvenience.
It is a question of public safety and responsible urban planning.
Could the relevant authorities consider whether a dedicated and structured pick-up zone could be created?
Perhaps existing pedestrian space could be redesigned, or a portion of the school frontage or field incorporated into a drop-off and pick-up area.
There may be engineering, traffic or land-use considerations involved, but these are precisely the kinds of problems that planning authorities are expected to examine and solve.
We have the expertise, technology and resources to design safer roads and more efficient traffic systems.
Surely we can apply the same problem-solving approach to something as fundamental as getting children safely from school to their parents.
I hope the relevant authorities responsible for road and school safety will seriously review this issue and work towards a solution.
Parents should not have to choose between enduring traffic chaos and worrying about whether their children can safely weave through lines of vehicles.
Our children deserve better, and this problem deserves a proper solution.
CONCERNED PARENT
Petaling Jaya
