Traffic duty: Let a scout help you park

200 traffic scouts trained to manage parking.

LAHORE:

The traffic police is all set to launch a new unit of quasi wardens, over 200 boy scouts will be trained to serve on model roads and address traffic congestion outside their respective schools and colleges, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Traffic police, on Wednesday and Thursday, gathered around 200 students, from different educational institutes, on model roads to teach them how to control traffic. There will be another training session on Friday (today) before the project is launched. The project is being launched to address traffic congestion caused primarily by school vans and parents outside educational institutes.

The traffic police was instructed by Lahore Commissioner Jawad Rafique Malik to take all necessary steps to control traffic created outside 53 educational institutes on 20 model roads. Traffic police said they were unable to depute the around 300 wardens that would be required to address this problem.

Students of classes IX and X along with first-year college students were trained by the traffic police about traffic laws traffic controlling techniques. The names of the student volunteers were forwarded by their principals with a letter of permission from their parents.

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Ahmad Mobin told The Express Tribune the 200 traffic scouts would mainly address the issue of parking outside educational institutes. He said around five traffic scouts would be assigned with one warden. He said that where appropriate the traffic scouts would single handedly perform their duty. He said traffic congestion outside schools and colleges usually lasted half an hour before the school opened and half an hour after it closed. The traffic scouts, he added, would come half an hour early to school and stay half an hour after school.

He said the traffic scouts would be given scarves, badges and cards for identification on Friday. He said on-ground training would start on Monday when the scouts would assume charge. He said the scouts would not be managing traffic on roads, their focus would be the parking areas outside schools and colleges.

He said the scouts would be backed by wardens who could manage any tricky situation. He hoped the students would be able to guide parents and other drivers.

He also hoped the drivers would learn to manage parking on their own after some time had passed.

CTO Mobin said the traffic police were trying to convince all institutes on model road to provide parking areas on their campuses.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2012.