When the Integrated School Complex at Cujira in Merces was first proposed, the idea was to ensure that schools have better facilities, a more open environment, common infrastructure that can be shared between schools and most importantly to decongest the city of traffic caused by schools.
Many of the above objectives have either been achieved or are in the process of being achieved. Schools in cramped buildings sans parking and whose access roads were only narrow lanes now have better buildings and facilities to offer their students.
However, the traffic problem has not been solved. Instead, it has multiplied and is now at two locations -- both within the city as well as Bambolim.
What’s worse, schools have moved out of the city, ostensibly to reduce the congestion, but casinos were allowed to move in thereby bringing more congestion and defeating the purpose.
For as long as each parent wants to bring his/her child to school in their own vehicle there will always be traffic jams and no amount of planning will solve the issue. The solutions to the problem that have been mooted, including the construction of a ring road will only solve the problem to an extent.
No doubt there have been measures in place including getting students to use the school buses, getting the school buses to park on the stadium grounds and the like. But the real trick lies in reducing the number of vehicles that arrive at the school gate to drop the school children. Any system can get overwhelmed if it has to cater to a huge number of vehicles in a short span of time. This happens outside stadiums before and after a game and in schools.
However, across the world, the solution lies in mass transit systems like ensuring metro stations are close to the stadium so that fans and others do not bring their own vehicles.
At Cujira, moving the schools out has not solved the problem. It has only shifted the problem from one location to another. The problems have remained the same.
The government needs to not just goad parents into sending their wards by school and other buses, but also make it mandatory as far as possible to do so. Not only will this reduce the traffic congestion, but will also train an entire generation for using public transport over private vehicles, which is the only and the right way forward. After all school isn’t only about learning from books.
A similar situation is witnessed at Miramar and in the heart of Margao where parents waiting in their cars clog the important road while the government has made no noticeable efforts to get people to change their habits. One hopes that better sense will prevail this time.
