Tuesday, November 9, 2010

WHY SHOULD WE PLAN A CITY THAT IS SAFE FOR CHILDREN TO TRAVEL?

Children are one of the road user groups that need special treat while travelling. Different from disabled, children may be able to move by themselves without help from other, yet the surrounding environment may make their journey less safe. Children’s limitation shouldn’t be the reason for them to not travel in a city because a children as well as disabled friendly city with high safety level facilities and surrounding could be achieved especially in our current policy on towards sustainable transportation implementation.

We should provide safe city for children to travel because children do not drive vehicle. Children only could walk or cycle which do not move them to a far distance. They are less energetic to be compared to adult. School institutional, commercial, social activity points should be embedded in neighbourhoods and reachable by walking or cycling city. Thus, children may easily travel within the loop by walking or cycling in short distance which is much safer. Interconnected networks of streets should be designed to encourage walking. In addition, providing safe and easy access city for children will help them stay on the track and not getting lost in the journey.

Children who are not drive will also depend on public transportation to move around in a city. Public transport should offer children friendly services such as easy to access from their residential area by walking and cycling, good vehicle design such as narrow gap between train access door and floor surface, informative system which to ensure them riding on correct network as well as safe and children friendly terminal and station.

Children are exposed not only to road accident but also social crime. Children who are always walk and cycle, need to compete with huge and high speed vehicle while travelling. It is too risky. Their little physical might couldn’t be seen by driver while they’re crossing the road or walk beside the roadways. And with their limited view sight, they might fail to expect or see the danger. A safe city for children travelling with good and safe pedestrian facility, cameras at adequate areas, safe and easy access to public transport and police availability for help should be provided to avoid accident and crime. Pedestrian facilities should included lighting, physically and spatially separated, good shelter, bench for rest, amenities and also accessible to and from public transportation network. To meet their limitation and to fulfil children’s travelling needs, a safe to travel city is a necessity.

Less education and experience on the road safety will lead to less children alertness of the surrounding. They might do not have any idea that playing while cycling or walking close to the road will expose them to danger. Without adult supervision, children used to disobey the signboard or road rules while walking or cycling and put themselves in danger situation. Children could be trained and educated on road safety, but in the same time we can less the risk by planning a city that safer for them. Reduced the number of motorized vehicles and promote non-motorized to mobile are among of the policy that could be done. In addition, the speed limit in a city should be reduced to align with non-motorized transportation. Less motorized vehicle in less speed in a city will lead to safe environment for children travelling.

The other reason why we should plan a safe city for children to travel is to build and encourage self independent among the children. Nowadays most of working parents have less time to accompany children at all the time. When there is any urgency children may be able to travel alone safely. To make sure a safe journey from point to point, children should be offered with accessible, reliable, efficient and secure transportation systems. Again, walking, cycling and public transportation are always to be the chosen mode for children to mobile so transit, pedestrian, and bicycle systems should maximize access and mobility throughout the city region while reducing dependence upon the automobile. In most of develop countries, nowadays children who travel alone are common situation. Children travel around not only during urgency. It is shows that a safe city for children travelling plays important role to convince parents allowing children to travel alone.

To promote children safety while travelling in a city is indirectly to promote sustainable transportation. Transportation that able to meet the needs of children and whole society to move freely, gain access, communicate, trade, and establish relationships without sacrificing other essential human or ecological values today or in the future are the elements of sustainable. By providing a safe city that allows children to move around by walking, cycling or using public transport it is actually practicing sustainability systems. This is also the way how to educate society from the early age to use and maintain sustainability transportation. Children who are used to travel with safe pedestrian facilities, safe cycling facilities as well as safe public transportation operation will remain to practice it until they grow up, thus no private motorized vehicle is needed. Less car dependency will resulted less congestion, less pollution, less accident and of course it will leave good environment and social culture to the next generation. Again, when the children are grow up and be an adult, they will promote whatever they experienced during their childhood time; safe city for children to travel.


A city that safe for children to travel will not only benefit the children, but the whole social network. Sometimes parents reluctant to allow children travel in to a city because it is not safe or highly polluted. Parents are willing to send and fetch children to and from the school inside the city because they are highly concerned on their children safety and health. More congestion is created due to multiple trips by parents that drive for their children. Imagine how many trips that parent’s private vehicle will make if a child need to be send to school, extra outside classes, sport and recreational activities or even to the friend’s house within a same city if the city is not safe for children to travel. Plan and build a city that safe for children to travel is really a wise investment that benefit whole current and future society.


*** This is one of my final exam questions, and this is my answer. Waiting on how much can i gain from max 10 points, this is still in marking progress***

*** I went to Singapore & saw how independent the children in making their own journey without parents. A primary school children travel on MRT (here we called LRT) alone, from home to city. Because the facilities, transport itself, stations and everything are children friendly, reliable and safe. I remembered my first own journey by public transport is on 14 years old, with a friend, itupun sangat takut2.. We should achieved excellent public tranport, just like developed countries do, it will definitely benefit all sectors.***