Speeding drivers worry for pupils

KIDS' MESSAGE: Pupils at Mauriceville School have created signs to help control traffic near the small country school. Kailyn Relampagos, 10 (left), principal Rebecca Stevens and Shakahne Sotton, 9, in the hall with the signs. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Mauriceville School pupils will soon be putting the brakes on speeding drivers who rocket past the school.

Principal Rebecca Stevens said the Mauriceville Health Promoting Schools (HPS) team had, two years ago, seized upon speeding drivers as the most concerning threat for the children.

The HPS scheme aims to bring together the entire school community to improve the health and wellbeing of the pupils, staff, and the community.

"The most concerning issue wasn't on the school grounds, it wasn't about learning and it wasn't about bullying - nothing like that - those students were most concerned about the speed of the traffic going past the school."

Mrs Stevens passed on the concerns to Masterton District Council and speed and traffic volume monitoring strips were placed near the school.

"We found the kids were right and nearly 75 per cent of the traffic were going past at more than 50km/h. One had gone past at over 100km/h."

The HPS team set a plan of attack, she said, and partnered with the Wairarapa Road Safety Council and co-ordinator Holly McGeorge, after sharing the results with the district council.

The children designed slogans like "Kids Learn Here" and "Slow Down" and with Ms McGeorge created images to accompany their words of warning, which they painted on to a diamond-shaped set of roadside signs that will be placed, with funding from the district council, at either end of Mauriceville village.

The council was to also lay rumble strips on the road fronting the school and will complete roadside plantings to give the thoroughfare an enclosed appearance, which is also proven to slow down some drivers.

She said Wairarapa artist Fern Love was painting a large mural that would grace the front of the school "to make us more visible as a school".

"It's been interesting because, at first, we thought it was going to be trucks that were speeding but it was all kinds of vehicles, and most of them were turning off at Eketahuna, Alfredton, and coming through from all of those places. It feels like quite a high volume too for such a small place," she said.

The childrens' signs are expected to be in place within the next few weeks, Mrs Stevens said.