Valenzuela youth paint pedestrian lanes, call for safer roads

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LIGTAS NA DAAN, KULAYAN NATIN ‘YAN. Valenzuela City officials and other organizations like UNICEF Philippines, ImagineLaw, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, and Michelin join students from Vicente P. Trinidad National High School in Valenzuela City in painting pedestrian lanes to celebrate National Road Safety Month.

Learners from Vicente P. Trinidad National High School in Valenzuela City went out of their classrooms on Friday to paint pedestrian lanes outside their school as a call for safer roads for everyone, especially children.

“This National Road Safety Month, we urge the government at all levels to make our journey to and from school safer. No child deserves to get injured or die due to preventable road crashes,” said Precious Shane Matira, a Grade 7 student from Vicente P. Trinidad National High School.

In response to the youth’s call, the City Government of Valenzuela, headed by Vice Mayor Lorena Natividad-Borja, expressed its commitment to continuously protect children from road crash deaths and injuries. In 2022, Valenzuela City enacted a Child Road Safety Ordinance to create safer and healthier Valenzuela roads for all children.

“We will continue working to ensure that children are safe on Valenzuela roads. In fact, Valenzuelanos can expect several road safety improvements this year because we are introducing engineering interventions that will improve road conditions along school zones,” Vice Mayor Borja promised.

These interventions were recommended to the City Government upon assessment of the risk that children are exposed to on their journey to schools. These interventions include infrastructure improvements such as building or upgrading sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic calming measures such as speed bumps, and pedestrian crossings.

Civil society organizations and other road safety stakeholders were also present to celebrate the National Road Safety Month. Public interest law group ImagineLaw commended Valenzuela youth for taking a stand. “We appreciate your courage to go out here, paint these pedestrian lanes, and advocate for safer roads. We hope that what you did today inspired our local government leaders to take action, because going to school or playing outside should not be a death sentence for children,” said Atty. Reina Fabregas, the law group’s road safety project manager.

“Road traffic injuries remain to be the leading cause of death for children 5 to 18 years old, with more than 600 preventable deaths happening daily. In 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority documented that at least 1,600 Filipino children are killed by road crashes every year. UNICEF believes that it is every child’s right to survive and thrive in a healthy and safe environment, and we know that with effective interventions, road crashes are preventable.” added Dr. Angelito Umali of UNICEF Philippines .

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