Southern View: October 22, 2020

SOUTHERN VIEW Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday October 22 2020 3
School fears for pupils’ safety on roads
• By Bea Gooding
ANOTHER SCHOOL says it
fears for the safety of its pupils
following an increase in traffic
and dangerous driving in the
area.
Provisions for safer access
to Knights Stream School in
Halswell are being sought for
children walking, biking or
scootering to school, due to a rise
in traffic caused by the Southern
Motorway.
It comes after Hornby High and
Halswell School revealed they were
also experiencing the same issues
due to growing traffic volumes and
speeding drivers.
The city council recently
installed improvements nearby
Knights Stream School, such as
road markings and speed signs.
But principal Mike Molloy believes
more needs to be done to
mitigate the issue.
The school is on Richmond
Ave and is connected to John
Paterson Drive, which opens up
to the motorway.
Molloy said vehicles passing
nearby the school often struggle
to slow down as they come from
the 100km/h zone into a 40km/h
speed limit zone.
“Kids aren’t predictable and
they’re not as good at judging a
vehicle’s speed,” he said.
“They don’t always look, so
we’re making sure we do work
on road safety, and parents are
supporting their children in
making good decisions.
“We’re trying to be preventative
rather than reactive.”
The school, through the
Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton
Community Board, requested
the city council address a
number of concerns regarding
the safety of children.
Molloy said the volume of traffic
has already increased and is
expected to rise.
The school wants a 30km/h
speed limit and a raised platform
outside of the campus. It also
wants cameras to catch speeding
vehicles, a pedestrian crossing,
and more signs to remind
driver’s about their behaviour.
Buses parked outside the
school also cause visibility issues
when vehicles are turning right
from Killarney Ave and the
school wants the bus stop to be
PROVISIONS:
Knights Stream
School principal
Mike Molloy
is concerned
increased traffic
in the area is
endangering
the lives of
pupils walking
or biking to
school.
PHOTO: GEOFF
SLOAN
moved across the road to the
Knights Stream Park car park.
A lack of street lighting at
night is also a concern for children
passing through the area,
and Molloy hopes lights can be
installed.
“We’re a community school, so
when we’re not here people are
still safe when they’re coming
to use the facilities after school
and during the weekend, not just
when the school’s operating,” he
said.
Molloy noticed improvements
when extra signage was installed
recently by the city council,
but was concerned a new speed
bump at the intersection of Richmond
Ave and John Paterson
Drive was not raised enough.
“It’s not sufficient, as it
stands, to mitigate the issue as
it’s only a slight bump. You could
probably hit 80km/h over it fine,”
he said.
City council transport operations
manager Steffan Thomas
said additional 40km/h signage,
road markings and a kea crossing
already outside the school
were considered to be sufficient
provision. Relocating the bus
stop was not desirable, and the
new speed bump in question was
recently modified to better slow
vehicles down.
“Relocating the bus stop into
the car park would result in
more pedestrians and typically
more children needing to cross
the road. However, staff will
investigate the visibility concerns
raised,” Thomas said.
“The developer has recently
modified the platform by
shortening the ramps to slow
vehicles on approach. It had been
designed to accommodate buses
which require the ramp to be
slightly gentler than a platform
on a non-bus route.”
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