Lower school speed action ‘too slow’ as child hit by car
The Selwyn District Council is pushing ahead with safer school speeds rather than waiting for government direction, but progress is taking “too long”, says a principal whose 7-year-old student was knocked off his bike, requiring surgery.
Another principal welcomed the plan in the fast-growing Canterbury area, but said more was still needed, such as increased pedestrian crossings and traffic lights near busy intersections.
Selwyn’s interim speed management plan will put variable 30kph speed limits around schools during peak times – when children are arriving and leaving – and reduce approaching speeds to dangerous intersections. It was approved by councillor on Friday. The plan was previously shelved, pending direction from the transport minister on new speed limit rules, but the council decided safety at these “critical locations” could not wait.
Blair Dravitski, principal of Lemonwood Grove School in Rolleston – the largest primary school in the South Island – said the council, government and himself “all have the same want to see the roads made safer for children”, but he was concerned slow progress was too slow.
“The time taken to achieve this outcome has already taken far too long and the change in government has extended the time parameters for this to happen.”
Dravitski wants the 50kph surrounding school roads and nearby 60kph East Maddisons Rd, which is “a significant concern”, all reducedto 30kph.
At the beginning of this month, a 7-year-old child from his school was hit by a car – being driven by another school community member travelling within the 50kph speed limit – while cycling home, and his injuries required facial and oral surgeries.
Dravitski pleaded with councillors to take action on Friday, saying a “helmet pretty much saved [the boy’s] life”.
He told The Press he was grateful the boy was still “his normal happy self”, but the crash was “absolutely scary for everyone involved”. “Kids make mistakes ... we need some common sense. We don’t want
to see a far more severe accident happen, we want to see a proactive approach in place to make our road safer,” he said.
“A slower speed means your reaction time is improved … you can stop faster, it’s less impact and increases the likelihood of being OK [during an] accident.”
Lemonwood Grove has 903 pupils and is heading towards 1100 in the next 18 months.
With all of those students living within about 2km of the school because of a tight zone, there was “no need to drive in our community at speed”, Dravitski said.
He was critical about housing infrastructure, subdivision and consent decisions having “moved quicker” than road safety over the last four years – the same period of time the school had been advocating for change.
West Rolleston Primary School principal Sylvia Fidow was “very pleased“with the council’s decision to push ahead after advocating for reduced speeds around her school since it opened in 2016, but said more could be done. The school has 760 students, but its surrounding streets are limited to 50kph and a state highway is less than 1km away.
More safe crossing options, footpaths, parking, and traffic lights at the “busy junction” between Burnham School and Dunns Crossing roads would make the area safer, she said. A “well used” pump and bike track built by the school in 2022 would also benefit from further safety improvements because “there’s no safe way to cross the road over the weekend” without the school-operated kea crossing, used in lieu of a pedestrian crossing.
As part of the school’s safe travel management plan, a hi-vis vest or fluorescent backpack cover was compulsory for all students so they were “really visible on their way to and from school”, even if they were travelling by car, Fidow said.
The council’s plan will go to the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) for approval, and it aims to roll out the changes from the end of June.
Council director of infrastructure and property Tim Mason said they “don’t want to wait until someone is killed or injured before we take action”. The plan is in line with current indications from the minister on what has yet to be announced regarding amendments to speed limit rules, and will be carried out using electronic and static speed signage.
The Government’s new safety strategy will be released later in the year.
The district council has $1.2 million available from NZTA for use towards slower speeds around schools, which needs to be used by June.