A TikTok video reveals the dangerous reality of poorly designed roadways, highlighting an elementary school surrounded by highway ramps.
Streetcraft (@streetcraft), a social media account dedicated to promoting sustainable urban designs, shared an aerial view of a major highway encircling an elementary school — identified by a commenter as being in Dayton, Ohio. Both the highway's entrance and exit ramps border the school, forcing students to navigate a high-traffic road to get to school.
@streetcraft Here's how we could change this to make it better #urbanplanning #civilengineering #roaddesign ♬ original sound - streetcraft
In an effort to raise awareness and offer practical solutions that support public safety, Streetcraft outlined a redesigned model of the road to highlight a safer way for children to navigate their way to school.
The new design decreased the number of highway lanes in favor of roundabouts, expanded green spaces, and created additional crosswalks for children to safely cross the road. By limiting the number of cars passing by, the new design offered a less congested road for children to cross when entering and leaving school.
"Unfortunately, in a lot of the U.S., many kids have to use roads designed for high-speed traffic in order to walk to school," Streetcraft says. "If we want to take safety seriously, we have to reconsider the physical designs of the roads that kids are using."
Gaining over 860,000 views and 78,000 likes, the video went viral. TikTokers were appalled to see a major highway surrounding an elementary school and disappointed to learn it's a common trend in the U.S.
"That is completely insane," wrote one user. "Imagine the kids trying to play outside with all that traffic flying past."
"Imagine how difficult it must be to study there with all that noise," responded another TikToker. "Plus the air pollution from a highway probably affects them as well."
According to a report by The Climate Reality Project, the transportation sector is the biggest emitter of pollutants in the U.S.
However, pedestrian-friendly cities promote public safety and health while also supporting the environment. Creating walkable or bike-friendly cities encourages people to use cleaner transportation, ultimately reducing pollution that causes our planet to dangerously overheat and is associated with health issues such as asthma.
TikTokers continued to discuss the situation in the clip.
"So sad for the kids," one commenter wrote.
"What city planner approved this?" another person asked.
"Someone wasn't thinking," a third TikToker wrote. "I like your plan."
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