Tainan Traffic Rises 16% in First Week of School as City Tightens Controls Around Campuses

Morning traffic in Tainan typically jumps by as much as 16% during the first week of school, turning the roads around campuses into the city’s immediate transport priority.

The city’s Transportation Bureau said car and motorcycle flows between 7 and 8 a.m. rise 10% to 16% from summer vacation levels. Before schools reopened, officials adjusted green-light durations and intersection flow at roads and school crossings prone to congestion.

The Greater Tainan Smart Transportation Center is monitoring travel times and live CCTV images around major school routes. When traffic conditions require it, officials can notify police to send personnel to help manage intersections.

The city coordinated its transportation and education departments, police, schools and other resources before the start of term. Officials reviewed signal schedules, road signs and markings, pedestrian routes, parent drop-off areas and traffic-control arrangements. More police officers, traffic volunteers and school crossing guards were assigned on the first day.

Transportation Bureau Director Wang Ming-de said Tainan’s school commuting program uses engineering, education, enforcement and technology to improve conditions around campuses. For the current year, 134 schools submitted 163 requests, including new or revised traffic lights and markings, designated school walking lanes and additional speed-reduction facilities.

By the end of July, 97 improvements had been completed. Examples included a marked pedestrian refuge island and a parent pick-up bay at Shengkung Elementary School in the Southern District, and green-background crossing markings and school-zone speed signs at Baodong Elementary School in Guanmiao District.