3 March

Media Release

Tasman Plans 40kmh School Zones

In response to community concerns about the safety of children walking and biking to and from school, the Tasman District Council is proposing to install variable school speed zones for Motupipi, Hope and Ranzau schools.

“We’ve done a lot of work in response to the strong community feeling that more needs to be done to keep children safe on their way to and from school,” Engineering Services Committee chairman Trevor Norriss said.

Cr Norriss said the Council will talk to the three schools before installing variable speed zone signs. The flashing signs will signal to motorists to slow down at times when children are entering and leaving school. Ranzau School is hoping to trial a kea crossing system in the meantime to help children safely cross the road at the beginning and end of school.

“We’ll also discuss the installation of static “40 When Children Present” signs at another four Tasman schools – Brooklyn, Mapua, Lower Moutere and Mahana,” he said.

“Only three of the 10 highest-priority schools meet the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) criteria for a 40kmh variable school speed zone. That is why we’ve opted for static signs around other schools.

“We have made these schools a priority because of the volume and speed of traffic in their area,” Cr Norriss said. “We also looked at crash data, the schools’ rolls, whether they had off-street parking, how many kids bus, walk and bike to school, and the behaviour of children and parents at the school gate. That allowed us to work out the level of risk for each school and what measures we could to put in place to improve safety.”

The Council has already placed “40 When Children Present” overlays on Appleby School’s large signs after discussions with the school. Better standard school warning signs will also be installed at Central Takaka, Dovedale and Ngatimoti schools.

“We will also continue our education programmes and road safety projects with schools to help keep our children safe.”

Cr Norriss said the Council would aim to have the new signs in place by the start of term 4 (October 2016). Some of the static signs are likely to be in place earlier.

ENDS

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