Chitanda School: traffic at the gate fell from 52 km/h to 18 km/h
Between 20 March and 26 May 2023, ZRST rebuilt the road frontage of Chitanda Combined School in Matero, Lusaka, with funding from Prudential SAFE STEPS. ZRST’s speed surveys at the gate averaged 50 to 54 km/h in April 2023 and 16 to 19 km/h in May 2023, and the iRAP Star Rating for Schools score at the entrance rose from 2 stars to 5. This page sets out those works, the measurements and their limits, the Ndola schools and Kabwe crossings treated under the same programme, and the work Prudential SAFE STEPS funded in 2024 and 2025.
Talk to usProgramme value, 2022 to 2025: ZMW 1,214,341.00
Chitanda Combined School, Matero, Lusaka (2023)
The problem. Chitanda Combined School has 2,536 pupils and sits directly on Chitanda Road. Pupils from the east of Matero must cross it twice a day. There was no footpath, no marked crossing and no school zone signing; ZRST’s April 2023 survey recorded average speeds of 50 to 54 km/h at the gate. The school’s own records show one pupil killed and one injured on this road in the year before the works.
What we built. Working from an iRAP Star Rating for Schools assessment, engineering drawings and written authorisation from Lusaka City Council, ZRST installed:
- a 385 m² paved pedestrian footpath, separated from traffic by 154 reflective steel bollards
- speed humps and bitumen rumble strips on both approaches
- a marked zebra crossing, with the school’s pedestrian gate repositioned to line up with it
- 30 km/h school zone signs and warning signs, plus new centre and edge markings
What changed. ZRST surveyed vehicle speeds at the gate on 18 and 19 April 2023, before works, and again on 16 and 17 May 2023, after completion.
| Survey period | Before works (km/h) | After works (km/h) |
|---|---|---|
| Morning, 06:30 to 07:30 | 51 | 18 |
| Mid-morning, 10:00 to 11:00 | 54 | 19 |
| Afternoon, 16:30 to 17:30 | 50 | 16 |
These are short-window monitoring results at one site, measured a week after completion. They show the treatment slowed traffic sharply; they are not a measured reduction in crashes. A star rating describes the built-in risk of the road, not crash outcomes.
The launch. On 18 May 2023 the Mayor of Lusaka opened the school zone with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics’ Director of Transport, the District Education Board Secretary, the area councillor, the head teacher, Mr Emmanuel Zimba, and Mr Nsofwa of Prudential Life Assurance Zambia. ZRST counted 23 adults and 100 pupils at the opening.
Five Ndola schools (2022)
With Ndola City Council and the Ministry of Education, ZRST chose five schools after road safety assessments and, by August 2022, installed reflective zebra crossings, pedestrian crossing signs and 30 km/h signs: Dambo Combined, Katondo Combined, Ndeke Combined, Lubuto Secondary and Masala Secondary, with a combined enrolment of 11,236 pupils.
Kabwe urban crossings (2023)
ZRST marked zebra crossings and installed signs at five urban locations in Kabwe, completed on 20 August 2023. The two photographs below show an unmarked crossing point and a completed crossing; they are not taken from the same viewpoint.
Public events, 2022 to 2023
With the same funding, ZRST closed Chiparamba Road in the Lusaka CBD for a Car Free Day on 25 September 2022, took care items to road crash patients on the University Teaching Hospital surgical ward on 18 November 2022, and briefed bus drivers and passengers at Lumumba bus station with RTSA during Road Safety Week 2022. A further Car Free Day and Remembrance Day activities followed in 2023.
Prudential SAFE STEPS work in 2024 and 2025
The partnership continued after the 2023 school zones. Prudential funding supported six further activities:
| Date | Activity | What was delivered |
|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2024 | Support for road crash survivors, University Teaching Hospital | Wheelchairs, crutches and toiletries donated to patients in wards G11, G12 and G21 |
| 21 to 22 February 2025 | RTSA Road Show, Chipata, during the N’cwala ceremony | Reflector jackets, reflective stickers and copies of the Highway Code in Chinyanja for cyclists, motorbike riders and drivers |
| March 2025 | Livingstone schools | Zebra crossings painted with Livingstone City Council, and road safety sessions at Mujala, Maria Regina, Linda Mulwani, Nansanzu and Libala schools (ZMW 185,000) |
| 9 July 2025 | Training the Immediate Bystanders workshop, ZRST offices | First aid, basic extrication and emergency response training with Zambia Fire Brigade and Levy Mwanawasa Medical University |
| July 2025 | First Aid at an Accident Scene programme, Lusaka Intercity Bus Terminus | More than 500 bus passengers, drivers, vendors and residents trained or briefed in first aid and basic traffic control, as reported by the programme (ZMW 170,000, together with the bystander workshop) |
| 24 August 2025 | Car Free Day, Mulundu Street, Woodlands | Street closure for walking, cycling and fitness activities, with Prudential Zambia as main sponsor (ZMW 50,000) |
What a partner receives, and how ZRST reports
For the partner
- Named, credited school zone signage at each site
- A public launch with the Mayor, council and ministry
- Before and after photographs and speed data
- A 12-month follow-up report on speeds and site condition
Our reporting standard
- Sites built and pupils enrolled at those schools, not estimated community reach
- Measured speeds and star ratings, not claimed crash reductions
- Photographs of identifiable children published only with written school consent
- A written update to the sponsor each month during works, and a final narrative and financial report at handover
Delivered with Lusaka City Council, Ndola City Council, the Ministry of Education, the Road Transport and Safety Agency and Zambia Police.