The International Road Federation has completed the second phase of its regional Safe School Zones project to create safer routes to school for more than half a million children.
Supported by the FIA Foundation Advocacy Hub, the IRF said the work had included speed limit reductions at more than 700 schools; an estimated investment of more than $2.3 million by local authorities; national and municipal policy change in two countries, and commitments to explore policy change from decision makers in others.
Since the launch of the project in 2021 IRF has worked with local partners across seven countries; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, and Tajikistan, to advocate for 30km/h speed limits around school zones.
The IRF said its partners had worked directly with the traffic police in each country to facilitate more than 50 extensive safety assessments around schools and jointly installed infrastructure upgrades at 37 schools as part of their wider advocacy efforts and to demonstrate the impact of best practice interventions.
The project will continue through 2025 and into early 2026 with the third phase aiming to drive forward policy and implementation of 30km/h school zones across the seven countries.
“We are working with each partner to develop an individual action plan for their country targeting key areas for intervention,” the IRF said in a statement.
“Each action plan is unique addressing the specific context of the country but all include interventions aimed at having the greatest impact, following up on commitments from the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in February 2025.”
