The Hague testing car ban near school at start, end of students' day

The Hague is experimenting with closing roads around a school during pick-up and drop-off times. The municipality wants to investigate whether the measure increases the safety around the school, Omroep West reports.

The school participating in this experiment is the Christian Montessori school De Abeel. During the times that kids are dropped off or picked up at school, no cars will be allowed on roads around the school. A traffic controller at the gates will direct traffic in the right direction. Parents who drop off or pick up their kids by car, can do so at a specially designated place.

"At the beginning and end of the school day, the street in front of a school entrance often turns into a chaotic interplay of cars, cyclists and pedestrians", alderman Robert van Asten told Omroep West. "Children in particular experience this as unclear and dangerous.

According to the municipality, The Hague is the first municipality in the Netherlands to experiment with a so-called "school street". The experiment will last a week, after which the municipality will evaluate and decide whether the measure will be extended to other schools in the city. According to the municipality, the system is already being used successfully in Belgium and Italy.