To tackle the perennial traffic congestion on the Chandigarh Sector 26 road that is enveloped by five schools, the nearby Butterfly Park road will also be made one way and entry will only be permitted from the Sector 7 side.

This was decided in a meeting held jointly by the traffic police and the UT education department on Tuesday. This will be carried out on a trial basis for the next seven to 10 days as per officials.

Speaking about this, senior superintendent of police (SSP, Traffic) Sumer Pratap Singh said, “We had earlier carried out a survey to identify the problem. On Tuesday, we discussed the issue with the schools and decided to make the Butterfly Park road exit only. Entry will only be allowed from the Khalsa College side from Sector 7.”

Singh said traffic chaos primarily arose during the schools’ closing hours and parents parked their vehicles on the road even an hour before the students’ exit. “Traffic will have to remain moving and no one will be allowed to park on the road,” he added. Traffic cops were seen issuing challans even on Tuesday.

UT director school education (DSE) Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar added that these measures will be tried out for around seven to 10 days. “We will see if any further adjustments are needed. Schools have also been asked to ensure the traffic can keep moving smoothly and further meetings can also be called if needed,” he added.

Nisha Kaul, principal of Strawberry Fields High School, who was in attendance during the meeting, said, “In our plea, we had asked the authorities to ensure that the one-way system can be effectively implemented. We have conveyed the decisions in the meeting to the parents so they can also be aware from now on.”

She added that parking shouldn’t be allowed outside schools and parents can instead park their vehicles near the Sector 26 waterworks colony.

There are five schools, a college and another government institute on the same road that leads to traffic congestion, especially in the morning and afternoon hours. One-way system was earlier also being implemented by the traffic police and entry from St Kabir School side was curtailed when this was in force.