Today, our collaboration between UNESCAP, iRAP, EASST and the International Road Federation (IRF) to review and improve local road geometrical design standards for safer and more inclusive roads across Central Asia drew to a close with a final workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event also marked the launch of a new suite of road safety design guidance for road infrastructure designers across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Over the past 18 months, since the project’s launch in March 2024, partners have carried out a stepped process including kick‑off missions to each pilot country, a stakeholder consultation in Tashkent in November 2024, a three‑session technical training series for 70 engineers and practitioners in May 2025, and preparatory workshops that informed the suite of guidance now being released.
The concluding workshop in Tashkent on 26 June was opened by the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Mr Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, both of whom celebrated the creation of the new resource package, which includes:
- A full project report of our approach and methodology, including details of existing GOST-SNiP design standards in each country.
- Results of iRAP star rating assessments at standard cross sections in the region.
- Tailored road safety design guidance, based on international best practice, for each pilot country (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan).
- Safer road design guidance graphics.
The guidance has been developed in close cooperation with national stakeholders and with input from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB) – with financial support provided by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF). The aim of these resources is not to replace existing standards but to supplement them and offer valuable guidance to road engineers and other stakeholders on how to incorporate evidence-based safety measures derived from international best practice into future road projects.
In particular, the guidance emphasises the importance of early intervention into the project planning process, especially during feasibility studies, to reduce the risks that can lead to serious crashes, injuries, and deaths. It promotes a Safe System Approach, which recognises that road users, as human beings, can make mistakes, and that those mistakes should not cost lives or result in serious injury. The approach calls for road design that mitigates risk, especially for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and children.
Safe road design is not only lifesaving but also cost-effective. It helps to avoid the economic losses incurred by countries due to road crashes with early intervention also serving as a mechanism to avoid costly mistakes in the road development process. The guidance for each country covers key areas including: a review of existing national standards; practical design solutions based on road safety design principles such as lower speeds and forgiving infrastructure; detailed guidance on specific design elements and the role they play in mitigating risk; and why consultation and stakeholder engagement is a vital part of the design process.
Speaking at the workshop, Julio Urzua, iRAP’s Strategic Projects Director said, “One of the most important aspects of the project has been its collaborative approach, as the focus has been on three countries that use the GOST-SNiP design standards in Central Asia. As a result of the project, those countries now have a Road Safety Design Guidance, which will help road designers to improve the safety conditions of the road designs. In addition to this Guidance, the project produced an iRAP Star Rating Assessment Results of Standard Cross Sections, which will be a very valuable document for those designers who want to assess the risk of death and serious injury in the current design standards using the iRAP methodology of Star Ratings, based on the features of the road and the degree to which they impact on the likelihood and severity of crashes.”
Julia Funk, Programme Manager and Head of Statistics at the IRF commented, “At the International Road Federation, we believe that no one should lose their life or health due to preventable road design flaws. This project reinforces our commitment to advancing safer infrastructure by supporting countries to integrate evidence-based, people-centred design into national practices. The resources developed are the result of genuine collaboration and mark a concrete step toward making roads across Central Asia safer and more inclusive.”
While Emma MacLennan, Director General of EASST said, “Improving road engineering design standards is not just a paper exercise. Across all three pilot projects EASST and our local partners have implemented pilot pedestrian infrastructure upgrades with tremendous impact – including huge reductions in road crashes. These interventions really do save lives and make cities more liveable. Now, with the new guidance being launched today, we look forward to seeing these small pilots become the norm. The guides we have produced are practical and user-friendly, designed to sit alongside existing standards. Road engineers and designers should take these guides as a fundamental resource on which all design decisions are based. If this happens, we will have succeeded.”
By implementing and updating national road design standards in line with international standards such as the UN Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and CAREC’s Safely Connected: A Regional Road Safety Strategy, our aim is to minimise road traffic fatalities and injuries through safer road infrastructure. And we hope that the pilots in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that have been a focus of this project will scale up to have CAREC-wide implications.
The issue of safety, as well as the ability to ensure the accessibility of the road for all users, including motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and people with limited mobility, should be prioritised during the design of new roads and existing road upgrades. Stakeholder engagement, integration of international safety measures and capacity building activities will support the effective implementation of updated standards and result in continued improvement of road infrastructure planning and design in Central Asia.
To download the Resource Package in English and Russian, visit https://www.gtkp.com/safe-and-inclusive-road-designs-in-central-asia/
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