Students help find Kerikeri traffic solutions

A Kerikeri High School geography student records traffic flows in Kerikeri. Photo / Dana Boisen

High school students have been getting real-life lessons in urban planning while at the same time helping the Far North District Council resolve the town's traffic problems.

Forty-two Kerikeri High School Year 12 and 13 students took to the streets armed with pens and clipboards last month to monitor peak traffic flows at Kerikeri's busiest intersections.

As well as collecting data on the number of vehicles passing each point they were also noting driver behaviour such as using roundabouts to make U-turns.

Civil engineering company Haigh Workman will be use the data to confirm the town's congestion levels and model the effects of predicted population and traffic growth.

If the results confirm the claim of many residents that Kerikeri has major traffic problems, the company will then work on possible solutions for the council to include in its future Integrated Transport Plan.

Dana Boisen, geography and tourism head of department at Kerikeri High, said students often used data from hypothetical scenarios in coursework.

"The traffic count was a great opportunity for students to use real-life information and base their research learning and assessment around some of the information collected."

A Kerikeri High School geography student keeps tabs on the town's traffic. Photo / Dana Boisen

Associate principal Mike Clent says the request from Haigh Workman to be part of the traffic count was an authentic learning opportunity that helped students engage with their community.

The students were posted at key intersections and roundabouts on Kerikeri, Waipapa and Hone Heke roads as well as the Heritage Bypass.

Counting was done over three shifts at peak times of 7-9am, 11.30am-1.30pm and 4-6pm. The students' findings will be augmented by automatic traffic counters fixed to the roads.

Current information shows that traffic on State Highway 10 is growing by 6 per cent annually, a figure that is expected to be mirrored on arterial roads such as Kerikeri Rd.

Kerikeri Rd is currently used by more than 10,000 vehicles per day. If traffic volume continues to grow by 6 per cent a year over the next 12 years the number of cars using Kerikeri Rd each day will exceed 20,000 vehicles per day, far more than its capacity.

The council will seek public feedback on a draft Integrated Transport Strategy in October.