Tinwald School road safety fears being considered

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

A Canterbury school near a busy road is hoping fears over vehicle speeds will be addressed when the council reviews school speed zones later this year.

Tinwald School's board of trustees raised safety concerns about the stretch of Graham St bordering the school, particularly between Thomson and Harland streets, with the Ashburton District Council earlier this year.

Board presiding member Chris Hill raised the safety concerns in April.

“There has been a significant increase in the volume of traffic that travels this stretch of road. And as a result, has caused a heightened level of anxiety and safety concerns,” Hill told councillors at the time.

An “informal review” by the school had estimated a conservative figure of between 90 and 160 cars travelling along Graham St during school pick-up and drop-off times.

Council data shows that the average speed on Graham St is 47kph with over 2000 vehicles daily.

The council had introduced permanent 30kph urban school speed zones in July last year, but in February determined that the speed limits would become time-restricted as soon as the Government amended rules governing the setting of speed laws.

The minister of transport’s redrafted rule is out for public consultation and is scheduled to be changed by the end of the year.

Tinwald School wants Graham St added to its existing 30kph zone, and the council’s road safety co-ordinating committee has recommended it be included when the time restrictions are introduced.

Hill told the Local Democracy Reporting he was pleased to see the concerns were being addressed by the council.

“There has been positive communication with the council and hopefully we get to a resolution to improve the safety of our children.”

Roading manager Mark Chamberlain previously stated that Graham Street was not initially included when the council introduced the speed reduction because there is no access to the school off the street.

The logical solution will be a variable speed limit being considered when the council revisits speed zones following the law changes, Chamberlain said.

Tinwald School’s concerns also included the crossing points on Graham St, suggesting relocating the pedestrian crossing.

The council met with the school’s board on Thursday afternoon to discuss installing better pedestrian crossing signage and the possibility of the school running a crossing patrol at the Graham St crossing.

The recent Tinwald corridor upgrade included the creation of a safe route to Tinwald School that encourages pupils walking or biking to school to use the new traffic signals, and the shared paths on Agnes and Thompson streets that lead to the Graham St pedestrian crossing.