KEY POINTS:
A new road safety campaign asking drivers to slow down on a West Auckland street features a girl who nearly lost her life in a hit-and-run accident.
The Vodanovich Rd, Te Atatu, campaign will see life-sized photographs of 13 children who live on the street placed on power poles along the side of the road.
Each child, aged between five and 10, is holding a hand-painted sign with one word on it.
The words spell out the message to drivers: "Please slow down on our road or one of us will surely die."
The final child featured is 5-year-old Alysha Anania, who was hit by a car as she played with a ball only metres from her home in March.
Little Alysha suffered a broken leg, broken jaw and suspected head injuries in the accident.
Her leg injury is still healing and mother Cherie said she is now extremely scared of crossing roads.
The female driver left the scene after stopping briefly, but was not charged. Police did not believe she was speeding at the time.
"All the years we've been here, cars have always been speeding up and down this road," Cherie said. "Alysha didn't really understand how scary it was, what happened to her, but she did want to be part of the campaign."
Parents on the street have been concerned about the road's safety for more than two years.
They presented a petition to Waitakere City Council in 2006 to force design changes for the suburban street.
"It is a particularly windy, elevated road _ the topography of it is not good," said the city council's road safety co-ordinator, Kitch Cuthbert.
"People do go too fast, they lose it on the bends and a number of residents have had cars in their gardens."
Road marking has been changed in the area, medians put in, and some speed humps were put on the street in June, but Cherie said vehicles still sped past regularly.
Cuthbert said the new campaign's effect would be measured in a month's time by speed recording tubes installed by the council.
Advertising agency JWT, which gave its time and help pro-bono to develop the campaign along with the residents and council, said the "unique and distinctive" billboards would force drivers to see the impact their actions had on the community.
The children's billboards will be unveiled today.
- michelle.coursey@heraldonsunday.co.nz
