Keeping Kids Safe on Our Roads

Dunedin (Monday, 26 May 2014) – There will be helmets and bicycles galore when three Dunedin schools launch their joint Road Safety Action Plan tomorrow.

Tahuna Normal Intermediate, Tainui and Musselburgh Schools have worked together with the community to develop the Plan.

The Plan will be launched at Tahuna at 10.30am on Tuesday. As part of the launch, DCC representatives and the Community Neighbourhood Policing Team will lead a bike ride for students from the three schools, weather permitting.

Dunedin City Council Safe and Sustainable Travel Co-ordinator Charlotte Flaherty says, “The schools and community have identified road safety issues near their schools and have come up with ways to address these issues.”

One issue identified was the use of scooters, which were sometimes creating safety concerns for other road users. Musselburgh students came up with a policy on scooter use in their school grounds, while Tahuna students produced a film about good scooter use and Tainui students looked at the issue of traffic speeds and parking congestion outside their school.

As part of the bike ride, about 50 students will cycle on some of the new cycleway in nearby streets. Mrs Flaherty says the raised road platforms which are being installed to link the new cycleway to the schools will help slow traffic and make the area safer.

All schools took part in a competition to produce artwork to show road safety problems and awards will be made at the launch.

The partners who have helped develop and/or support the Action Plan are the St Kilda Community Association, the Dunedin Holiday Park, St Kilda Kindergarten, the South Dunedin Neighbourhood Policing Team, Junior Neighbourhood Support, DCC parking enforcement staff and the NZ Transport Agency.

Mrs Flaherty says the work with Tahuna, Tainui and Musselburgh is part of a programme of activities the DCC is undertaking with schools. Activities include the installation of pick up/drop off zones to manage parking issues and the development of walking maps to show safe routes to school. Each school has different needs and will make use of a variety of tools from the DCC toolbox of resources. School are prioritised according to risk.“

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