Kaimai School principal Dane Roberston has serious concerns for the safety of his students due to high speed of traffic on SH29. Photo/John Borren
Kaimai School principal Dane Roberston has serious concerns for the safety of his students due to high speed of traffic on SH29. Photo/John Borren
Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty principals say the region's traffic woes are spiralling out of control and getting to school can be a dangerous task for their students.
Kaimai School principal Dane Robertson said he had "grave concerns for the safety of our students, staff and the community" on the school's stretch of State Highway 29.
Robertson said the school, like many in the region, had experienced a huge growth in recent years and more students were being driven to and from school. There have since been "numerous close calls".
"You could call it a perfect storm – four lanes within the parameters of the school, high speeds, more traffic passing – high levels of HMV, merging traffic, limited visibility, school growth, more traffic exiting [and] entering and the Kaimais' notorious winter weather conditions."
Last year, Ahmed Shariff, 37, was killed within 200m of the school. In the same year, a car crossed two lanes and crashed through the school fence and into trees where children played just before the start of school. The vehicle came to a stop on the school field, Robertson said.
Robertson said a police speed test was done outside the school last year.
"In the short time the flashing lights were activated at the beginning of school, I recorded several vehicles travelling over 120km/h past the school gates – some of these vehicles were not passing other cars."
Robertson ultimately wanted the speed limit reduced to 40km/h past all schools at peak times.
Most of our children, if they do bike, bike on the footpath and I don't blame them for doing that because they are much safer there.
Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington shared Robertson's concerns and was keen for a higher police presence outside schools.
Drivers often made rash decisions such as U-turns in gateways and using the school's driveway as a public road at inappropriate speed, Billington said.
Gate Pa School principal Richard Inder said traffic on Cameron Rd had become "quite diabolical" and while he advocated the benefits of cycling he warned children, and adults, against using the road.
"Most of our children, if they do bike, bike on the footpath and I don't blame them for doing that because they are much safer there."
Inder monitors the school's pedestrian crossing every afternoon and said there had been countless near misses from distracted drivers.
Tauranga Primary School principal Fiona Hawes said: "We have noticed an increase [of] incidents of arguments between drivers this year in particular – based on illegal parking and driving choices such as U-turning".
Such concerns were also shared by Fairhaven School, Oropi School and Bethlehem College.
Tauranga has been growing by an average of 2.3 per cent, or 2810 people, each year since 2013, when Tauranga's population was 119,800. The Western Bay district has also grown, hitting an estimated population of 49,000, up from 45,500 in 2013.
New Zealand Transport Agency's Adam Francis said it had worked with Kaimai and Tauriko schools and the agency was investigating installation of electronic warning signs and investigating where speed management could help.
Tauranga City Council transportation manager Martin Parkes said the safety of school children getting to and from school was of the highest priority.
"The concerns raised by the principals are shared by ourselves, but the solutions involve the wider community; adhere to speed limits, park considerately near schools, and encourage children to get involved in active transport.
"The more children we can get involved in active transport the less cars will be trying to park close to the school gates."
Patrolling the schools
Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair says police are working with schools to keep roads outside safe. Photo/file
Western Bay of Plenty police area prevention manager Karl Wright-St Clair said officers were concerned with driver behaviour and good practice around schools more so than traffic volumes.
"Issues that we have encountered previously include parents parking dangerously especially in wet weather, excessive speed around schools and students not using crossings," he said.
Children make mistakes, but they don't deserve to pay for them with their life.
Wright-St Clair said police already ran "return to school times" operations to reinforce good driver behaviour and would often respond to specific complaints about emerging risks.
"Speed has a significant impact on the severity of any crash so by reducing their speed, motorists can help reduce deaths and injuries on our roads. Children make mistakes, but they don't deserve to pay for them with their life. How [people] drive makes the difference," he said.
There are 24 schools in the Tauranga and Western Bay area which have dedicated school patrol teams. School community officers monitor driver behaviour, parking, and student behaviour to and from school while on school patrols, Wright-St Clair said.
Mum worried at safety of daily school walk
Tauranga mum Nicola Mulgrew is concerned at how dangerous the Maleme St and Cameron Rd intersection has become. Photo/George Novak.
A Tauranga mum says an intersection feeding into one of the city's industrial areas has become so dangerous it's only a matter of time before someone is hurt.
Pyes Pa resident Nicola Mulgrew walks her 6-year-old son to Greenpark School every day along Cameron Rd. However, she has become increasingly worried about safety at the Maleme St intersection.
"You've got truck and trailer units, concrete trucks, fire engines, etc. It's a horrible junction ... but with the traffic increasing, it's getting worse."
Mulgrew said the pedestrian island at the intersection was just big enough to fit herself, her neighbour, two prams and two older children.
"That's the size of it. When you've got two trucks behind you and cars coming around the corner, you feel quite vulnerable."
Mulgrew felt more needed to be done to make the intersection safer. She would like to see traffic lights installed.
However, she was "very disappointed" to learn that despite initial efforts from Tauranga City Council, any plans to upgrade the intersection were unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Mulgrew said she liked to walk because it didn't contribute to the city's increasing numbers of traffic but understood why many parents preferred to drive "because it was safer".
Tauranga transportation manager Martin Parkes said the council was keen to improve safety at the intersection, ideally with traffic lights.
"However, due to the proximity of Barkes Corner roundabout we need to ensure the impact of installing traffic lights at Maleme St does not compromise the safety and efficiency of the state highway."
The council and New Zealand Transport Agency were currently working on a project to upgrade the Barkes Corner intersection and "the impact of this piece of work needs to be fully understood before we progress with any work" elsewhere, Parkes said.
