Turning to the School Yard to Solve a Peruvian Driving Conundrum

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The Problem:

Peru seemed to be dominated by roadways that were developed before vehicles.  And, it turns out they were. From the old section of Cusco, to the rural countryside, we frequently observed two-way roads that were only barely wide enough for one-way traffic.

We walked along a sidewalk wedged between the storefronts and the street. The sidewalk was so minimal that not only were two pedestrians unable to pass without one stepping into the road, even a single pedestrian needed to carry parcels in her street-side hand, or more commonly on her back, to keep them from rubbing against shop windows. Seemingly as an afterthought, squeezed between the facing sidewalks was a cobblestone street nearly too narrow for one small car to negotiate. Yet the streets were all considered two-way. Consequently, when two cars met traveling in opposite directions, one needed to reverse to the preceding intersection to get out of the way. But not always. We watched as two cars crept past one another, each with two tires on the sidewalk, side mirrors nearly scraping as they passed.

The Solution:

While some municipalities might solve this problem by widening roads or designating some streets as one-way, Cusco leadership seems to have thought out of the box for a resolution: driving classes during elementary school recess. Yup, as we wandered up the narrow streets, we spotted a large school yard with several dozen kids at play. A few were enjoying a game of soccer while the vast majority were eagerly pedaling Fred Flintstone-style cars around roadways painted on the playground asphalt. This wasn’t simply an oval track. This road system included traffic lights, stop signs, crossing guards, pedestrian crossings, left turn lanes and lots of pint-size cars all driven by 8-year olds.

This novel approach to too-narrow streets seems to be working. As we wandered the old section of Cusco, which was snarled with traffic, we didn’t see one fender bender or even a driver who appeared agitated at backing up two blocks up a cobblestone street. Quite to the contrary, road rage was nowhere in evidence; schoolyard exercises seemed to be paying off in the streets of Cusco.