School’s high speed intersection fears

A small school is pleading with the government to do something about a high-crash intersection amid fears a child could be injured or killed.

Karapiro School students have written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asking for road safety improvements near their Waikato school.

The intersection between State Highways 1 and 29 is immediately next to the east Cambridge school. More than 20,000 vehicles traverse the road every day at open road speeds.

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) data indicates the intersection has seen 44 crashes in 10 years, including a fatal crash in 2017.

Thirty incidents were noninjury crashes, and 13 were minor crashes.

While the situation looked like it would improve with the planned Waikato Expressway extension, the school was crestfallen when the government shelved those plans.

Principal Tina-Maree Thatcher said the busy highspeed traffic posed a threat to vehicles turning out on to State Highway 1.

NZTA and the Ministry of Education had previously assisted in setting up a bus stop on the school grounds, which prevents students from having to be out on the busy road.

However, the hair-raising traffic situation was still a concern, as crashes there could directly affect the school community, Thatcher said.

She helped the students send their messages to the prime minister, and was hopeful for a reply.

In the meantime, Thatcher is taking the matter into her own hands, with the support of National MP for the Hauraki electorate, Tim van de Molen.

‘‘Effectively what we’re asking for is to put an intersection speed zone, to have a couple of high-crash warning signs,’’ van de Molen said.

‘‘And then maybe some of those little orange poles by the turning bay, just to help the traffic there, which will also slow it down a bit around this intersection.’’

He said that would only be an interim solution. A long-term fix would be to extend the four-lane Waikato Expressway, which ends east of Cambridge, a few kilometres away.

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said the government was aware of the situation and that student safety was important to everyone.

‘‘I’ve requested information from NZTA about the situation

‘We’d be celebrating if we knew there was going to be some proposed speed limit.’ TINA-MAREE THATCHER