According to a City of Tallinn press release, this year, two school areas in the Estonian capital will be completely redesigned, with improvements made at around 17 more schools with the aim of positively impacting the school journeys of nearly a quarter of all students.

According to data from the National Institute for Health Development, a large proportion of students in grades 1–7 in Tallinn already commute to school independently – mostly on foot (38 percent) or by public transport (31 percent).

Of the children brought to school by car (37 percent), nearly half (17 percent) return home on their own after lessons. However, many school surroundings are still unsafe for walking and cycling. Key issues include the safety of pedestrian crossings, lack of designated pedestrian space, and insufficient drop-off areas for those who need to arrive by car. More broadly, a lack of diverse outdoor activity areas around schools is also a concern.

"Independent movement and outdoor play are proven to help prevent a wide range of health problems," said Tallinn Deputy Mayor Madle Lippus (SDE)

"Research shows that children in Estonia face increasing challenges with obesity, anxiety, and depression. Supporting independent active mobility is an effective preventative tool, and adapting school surroundings is a way to reach large numbers of children simultaneously," she added.

The first upgrades have been designed for Mahtra Basic School and Mustamäe High School, focusing on creating safe and welcoming pedestrian access routes from public transport stops to the school gates.

In addition, over the past six months, traffic safety measures have been improved In the vicinity of 17 different schools. These include safer crosswalks, new speed bumps, narrowed intersections, and clearly marked school routes. Drop-off points for parents' cars are also being established at a safe distance from school entrances – making the immediate school area safer and encouraging even those arriving by car to walk a short distance.

"We're using measures that allow us to swiftly implement and test various traffic management solutions before full-scale street reconstruction," said Leene Korp, project manager for the Safe School Route at the Tallinn Urban Planning Department,

"This way, when larger investments are made in the future, we'll be better informed by real experience and know what works best," Korp continued

According to the press release, this year, the work carried out under the Safe School Route program is expected to improve the surroundings of schools attended by nearly a quarter of Tallinn's students. The long-term goal is to gradually upgrade the street environment around every school in the city over the coming years.

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