ঢাকাবৃহস্পতিবার , ৯ জুলাই ২০২৬
Road safety experts, urban planners, engineers, and law enforcement officials gathered in Chattogram today (9 July) to explore how better road infrastructure can reduce speeding and prevent road traffic deaths. A one-day capacity-building workshop titled “Speed Reduction through Infrastructure Design” was held at Hotel Peninsula Chattogram, bringing together key stakeholders to strengthen the city’s capacity to design safer streets for all road users.
The workshop was organized by Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) in collaboration with World Resources Institute (WRI). CCC has been working in partnership with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) since 2022 to make the city’s streets safer, more inclusive, and more accessible. The workshop was part of the initiative’s capacity building efforts. The opening session featured Mohammad Ashraful Amin, Chief Executive Officer (In Charge) and Secretary of CCC, and Mohammad Liakat Ali khan, Deputy Police Commissioner (Traffic-south) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP).
At the opening ceremony, Ashraful Amin said, ‘CCC is working with the stakeholders to make the roads safe. AI based traffic management system will be implemented in 59 spots in the city and primarily pilot project will be implemented in two intersections. Along with AI cameras, CCC will also install road signages, pedestrian crossings and other infrastructures. CCC is supporting WRI in improving the Oxygen intersection to make it safe for pedestrians and other road users.’ He also urged that CCC and CMP cannot make the streets safe unless road users obey traffic rules.
Deputy Police Commissioner Mohammad Liaquat Ali Khan said, “The police are responsible for maintaining order and discipline on the roads, while the City Corporation is responsible for road construction and maintenance. If both institutions work together, we can make Chattogram’s roads much safer.”
Technical sessions were conducted by Mirick Paala, Senior Technical Advisor at Vital Strategies, Retno Wihanesta, Urban Resilience and Knowledge Management Manager, WRI Indonesia, Architect Farzana Islam Toma and Arina Tahneem from WRI. The sessions covered the relationship between speed and road safety, principles of safe and inclusive street design, international best practices in speed reduction, and practical tools and criteria for infrastructure-based speed management.
The experts highlighted that excessive speed remains one of the leading contributors to road traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Higher vehicle speeds increase both the likelihood of crashes and the severity of their consequences, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists, children, older adults, and persons with disabilities. They also focused on how, alongside effective enforcement, safer street design and self-enforcing road infrastructure can play a critical role in encouraging drivers to travel at safe speeds and protecting all road users.
A key feature of the workshop was a group-based design exercise, during which participants assessed different street environments and identified context-appropriate infrastructure interventions to reduce vehicle speeds. The exercise encouraged participants to apply the concepts discussed throughout the day to real-world urban road scenarios.
The workshop brought together 15 engineers from CCC and 10 police officers from CMP. By strengthening technical knowledge and promoting evidence-based infrastructure solutions, the program reinforced Chattogram’s ongoing efforts to create safer streets, reduce road traffic injuries and fatalities, and build a more people-centered urban transport system.
