Zagreb parents have warned for years about this intersection: “It is a nightmare”

For parents in Zagreb's Siget neighbourhood, sending a child to school means watching anxiously as the child crosses the intersection of Radmanovačka, Siget and Aleja pomoraca.

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When my child starts school, that route is not just the way from home to school. It is the moment when I let go of their hand and watch them cross the intersection.

Residents say the pedestrian crossing has almost faded away, while drivers pass at high speed. One parent wrote in a local Facebook group that the intersection creates daily fear. "When my child starts school, that route is not just the way from home to school. It is the moment when I let go of their hand and watch them cross the intersection," the parent wrote. "Every time my child crosses that intersection, I feel the same thing: fear. A parent should not feel fear while sending a child to school."

The parents say they are not asking for anything extravagant. They want a safe crossing, better visibility and measures that force drivers to slow down before they see a child in the road. They also say children cannot predict an approaching car, judge its speed like an adult or always react in time.

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Every time my child crosses that intersection, I feel the same thing: fear. A parent should not feel fear while sending a child to school.

Other parents described the problem as longstanding and worsening as the neighbourhood becomes more built up. One said traffic through the street had become a catastrophe and that they feared letting their child walk alone. Another said, "That intersection is a nightmare. Cars do not stop even in front of the school, let alone there."

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That intersection is a nightmare. Cars do not stop even in front of the school, let alone there.