Tallinn is launching the “Ohutu koolitee” (Safe School Route) program to make the streets around every school in the city safer and more supportive of independent mobility for children. In addition to improving street safety, the initiative aims to enhance the overall quality of the surrounding urban space to encourage children to walk more and spend more time outdoors.
This year, two school areas will be completely redesigned, and improvements will be made around 17 more schools — positively impacting the school journeys of nearly a quarter of all students.
According to data from the National Institute for Health Development, a large proportion of students in grades 1–7 in Tallinn already commute to school independently — mostly on foot (38%) or by public transport (31%). Of the children brought to school by car (37%), nearly half (17%) return home on their own after lessons. However, many school surroundings are still unsafe for walking and cycling. Key issues include the safety of pedestrian crossings, lack of designated pedestrian space, and insufficient drop-off areas for those who need to arrive by car. More broadly, a lack of diverse outdoor activity areas around schools is also a concern.
Deputy Mayor Madle Lippus emphasized that improving safety around schools plays a critical role in overall traffic safety and also supports children’s mental and physical health: “Independent movement and outdoor play are proven to help prevent a wide range of health problems. Research shows that children in Estonia face increasing challenges with obesity, anxiety, and depression. Supporting independent active mobility is an effective preventative tool, and adapting school surroundings is a way to reach large numbers of children simultaneously.”
The first upgrades have been designed for Mahtra Põhikool and Mustamäe Gümnaasium, focusing on creating safe and welcoming pedestrian access routes from public transport stops to the school gates. In addition, over the past six months, traffic safety measures have been improved around 17 schools. These include safer crosswalks, new speed bumps, narrowed intersections, and clearly marked school routes. Drop-off points for parents’ cars are also being established at a safe distance from school entrances — making the immediate school area safer and encouraging even those arriving by car to walk a short distance.
Leene Korp, project manager for the Safe School Route at the Tallinn Urban Planning Department, explained that recent traffic management improvements already help to quickly enhance safety, as students need safe school surroundings today and every day: “We’re using measures that allow us to swiftly implement and test various traffic management solutions before full-scale street reconstruction. This way, when larger investments are made in the future, we’ll be better informed by real experience and know what works best.”
This year, the work carried out under the Safe School Route program will improve the surroundings of schools attended by nearly a quarter of Tallinn’s students. The goal is to gradually upgrade the street environment around every school in the city over the coming years.
Source: tallinn.ee