Photos: The February training, led by experts from iRAP and CCG, included participants from various Riyadh Municipality departments. (Images credit: CCG)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has embarked on an ambitious road safety initiative, conducting the world’s largest Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) assessment across 300 school areas, covering a total of 968 schools and 115 mosques. This landmark project, led by Riyadh Municipality, delivered by Consolidated Consultants Group (CCG), and supported by iRAP, aims to improve road safety and reduce risks for vulnerable road users, particularly schoolchildren and pedestrians.
Capacity Building and Technical Training
A crucial component of this initiative is the training and capacity building provided to local professionals. The first training session took place on 13-14 August 2024, followed by another intensive session on 11-12 February, 2025, bringing together participants from Riyadh Municipality, along with experts from iRAP and CCG. The training commenced with opening remarks from notable figures, including H.E. Eng. Abdulaziz Alauony, Director General of Roads and Lighting at Riyadh Municipality, and Eng. Ali Al-Zubaidi, Director of Traffic Engineering Department at Riyadh Municipality.
The training covered a range of essential topics, including:
- Understanding the Global Road Safety Challenge – Analyzing the current state of road safety globally, including the challenges and the strategies outlined in the Decade of Action.
- Safe System Approach & iRAP Tools – Introduction to the Safe System Approach, emphasizing road safety as a shared responsibility, and an overview of iRAP tools, particularly Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) for assessing school zone safety.
- Technical Solution for the workflow in the project – Preview of technical solution for the project of improving road safety at schools and mosques zones in Riyadh City.
- The 2025 edition of the Guidelines to Improving Traffic Safety Around School Zones – provides a comprehensive framework for creating safer traffic environments for students, educators, and parents. Building upon the latest global traffic safety standards, this guide now emphasizes the critical role of International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) protocols. Specifically, it integrates the use of the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) tool within iRAP to conduct thorough safety assessments around school zones. This approach enables targeted interventions and prioritizes infrastructure improvements based on evidence-driven risk evaluations. By leveraging iRAP and SR4S, this guide empowers communities to systematically identify and mitigate hazards, ultimately fostering safer journeys for all school users.
- Technical Session on Star Rating Demonstrator and SR4S – Practical training on using SR4S to assess designated schools, incorporating field data, photographs, and peer-reviewed evaluations to analyze school zone safety in Riyadh.
The training was designed to provide participants from various Riyadh Municipality departments with essential skills and knowledge in the iRAP Methodology and the SR4S tool, empowering them to assess and propose countermeasures to improve school zone safety.
A Step Toward Safer School Journeys
By adopting a data-driven approach, Riyadh is establishing a global model for large-scale school zone safety assessments. This initiative is not only improving road safety for students but also contributing to sustainable urban mobility and development across the city.
To get a quick and insightful recap of the training, watch the highlight video (in Arabic) by CCG here.
Explore more moments from the event through our photo gallery here.
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