Northland communities want crossings to improve safety for students and other pedestrians

Miles Fayerberg, 8, leads his community across Ngunguru Rd where they want Whangārei District Council to install a zebra crossing. Photo / Tania Whyte

A near-miss and growing safety concerns are bringing calls from two Whangārei communities for new zebra crossings.

Communities in Ngunguru and Tikipunga have both formally presented their calls to Whangārei District Council (WDC).

Mum Katie McInnes worries on a daily basis about her kids getting across Ngunguru Rd to school. In February 2019, her younger son Mack Yates (then 6) was "almost bowled" while the duo were starting to cross the road at this spot.

"People just don't stop," McInnes said.

"There wouldn't be a day goes by without some sort of near-miss happening," said Wendy Ferguson, a grandmother living next to Ngunguru Rd. The community wants two crossings.

Tikipunga High School students are also calling for two crossings outside their school.

"If someone gets hurt, it's not going to be the car that has the damage," Nadia Snyman,16, said.

"We want two crossings for Ngunguru to keep the community safe," Miles Fayerberg, 8, told councillors at WDC public forum where he spoke publicly.

"I get nervous thinking about crossing the road. I don't believe the cars will stop for me," Miles said.

Miles Fayerberg, 8, presents his Ngunguru crossings call to Whangārei District Council's public forum. Photo / Susan Botting

"We want a crossing in Ngunguru before Christmas next year," Amber Fayerberg, his mother said later.

The Fayerbergs want a zebra crossing at Ngunguru Rd, and another further east at the road's intersection with Shoebridge Cres.

Amber Fayerberg started a petition calling for the crossings that's already got 300 signatures.

"We want these crossings because it helps make the community safer, especially for kids," she said.

Miles, his mum and his sister Eliana, 6, ride the footpath along the landward side of Ngunguru Estuary's foreshore to school daily.

The children's father Eugene Fayerberg is an emergency medicine consultant at Whangārei Hospital, regularly getting to see the broken bones and other consequences of people trying to cross busy roads getting injured.

They want a zebra crossing at a spot where small kerb islands jut into the road, providing a tiny vestige of safety for the already hundreds crossing there each week.

About 200 students funnel through the spot twice a day, their morning crossings amidst increasing Tutukaka Coast commuter traffic that uses the road to access Whangārei and beyond.

Tikipunga High School's Skyla Anderson-Wynn (left) and Nadia Snyman outside their school's Corks Rd front entrance where they want a zebra crossing. Photo / Tania Whyte

Rick Sayer, Ngunguru School principal, said a crossing was badly needed at this site.
"There have been plenty of near-misses. A crossing there is well overdue," Sayer said.

"The majority of our students come to school by foot, bike or scooter and use that crossing and that's happening twice a day. The situation's particularly bad during the 7am–8.30am commuter rush hour when the traffic volume is high. Our kids have to run the gauntlet.

"Added to that, is the traffic around the shops. Traffic's doubling up, backing out of angle car parks. Cars coming along Ngunguru Rd are distracted. We've also got lots of visitors to the coast in summer in particular. These people don't necessarily know about the point where the kids are crossing."

There had been huge population growth on the Tutukaka Coast, he said.

Ngunguru School has grown from 120 students when he arrived as principal 16 years ago, to today's 300 students.

Ferguson said older community members needed to be able to cross the road safely, too.

A WDC spokeswoman said the Fayerberg's Ngunguru crossings call would be considered at the council's infrastructure committee meeting on Thursday, staff recommending the issue is investigated with resulting reports to the Fayerbergs.

Meanwhile, Tikipunga High School students Nadia Snyman, 16, and Skyla Anderson-Wynn (Ngāpuhi), 17, are also calling for crossings on the two roads that border their school.

One is for Corks Rd at the 250-student school's front entrance, the other is for busy Kiripaka Rd at the school's back entrance.

The students said the Corks Rd crossing was essential. Corks Rd is increasingly a thoroughfare from Tikipunga to Kamo, provides access for trucks servicing new residential development nearby and provides access north to Vinegar Hill and Kauri.

Trucks, cars, vans and half a dozen school buses daily use this road.

"We need this crossing for the school and the community," Skyla said.

She said she has regularly been sworn at by drivers as she crosses Corks Rd for school.

"It's verbal abuse, they shout get off the road, you stupid dumb b****'."

Tikipunga High School's Nadia Snyman (left) and Skyla Anderson-Wynn (Ngāpuhi) outline their call for two new crossings to Whangārei District Councillors. Photo / Susan Botting

Forest View Kindergarten and Tikipunga Primary School are two nearby local educational facilities impacted by the absence of crossings outside Tikipunga High School

"But it's not just the students from our school, it's students from other schools who catch buses outside our school in the morning and afternoon," Nadia said.

These include Kamo Intermediate, Pompallier Catholic College, Kamo High School, Dargaville High School, Whangārei Girls and Whangārei Boys High Schools.

A second crossing at the school's southern Kiripaka Rd back entrance is also essential, Nadia said.

"The speed limit's 40km/h on that road outside the school, but people don't stick to that," she said.

Kiripaka Rd heads east beyond Tikipunga High School out to the Tutukaka Coast. It's about 20km from where the students want the Kiripaka Rd crossing to Ngunguru Rd where the Fayerbergs too are leading Ngunguru's call for crossings.

Nadia crosses Kiripaka Rd daily, to and from home.

"You just have to guess when it's going to be the best time to cross and walk across really fast before the cars come. I have a look, judge where the cars are and cross, hoping I don't get hit," she said.

Alec Solomon, Tikipunga High School principal said it was good to see the students take a lead in being kaitiaki for the local area.

"The crossings are long overdue. They will make our kura and community a safer place," Solomon said.

He said students were at the chalk face of the growing traffic issues around the school.

Nadia and Skyla recently put their case to a WDC meeting public forum.

"The voice of youth is an essential voice to listen to. They have a lot to say, if only we are prepared to listen," he said.

Nadia is on the WDC Youth Council and Skyla has only recently finished a 16-month stint as the student representative on Tikipunga High School's board of trustees.

"If a crash happened we wouldn't be getting home. We all deserve to be safe when crossing the road when going home," Skyla said.

"That would be catastrophic. These aren't just faceless people, these are our friends," Nadia said.

"Every day we see members of our community cross these streets, having to wait for the road to clear or on days where that's not possible, having to weave through the traffic flow in order to get to the other side, in many cases with young children, too.

"We've also got two retirement villages around here.''

The WDC spokeswoman said the Tikipunga High School students' call would be considered as part of current council work in the district. This included looking at improvements to the Corks Rd/Station Rd (Kamo) corridor.

There was provision for a Kiripaka Rd crossing near the school's back entrance. This would also help the community access the school's pool in summer and assist Forest View Kindergarten.

The council was aware of the difficulties pedestrians faced in the Tikipunga High School and wider Tikipunga area.