Sign mishap endangers child safety

An 80km/h speed limit sign erected today on the boundary of Te Puna School is making it dangerous for children travelling to and from the school.

The 80km/h sign on Borell Road, about 10 metres from its intersection with Te Puna Road, was installed this morning to replace a vandalised 50km/h sign.

Te Puna School principal Neil Towersey on Borell Road where an 80km/h speed zone sign has been erected in a 50km/h zone.

The sign now shows an 80km/h speed limit directly outside the school’s boundary and not far from its pick-up and drop-off area on Te Puna Road.

Te Puna School principal Neil Towersey says the roads around the school are already dangerous enough.

“Speed is a real issue out here, coming past the school. Signage is completely ignored out here, all through school hours. You can hear the cars zoom past from my office.”

Neil says Borell Road is a major route for children travelling from the school down Paparoa Road.

“On Borell Road there is a blind corner, cars come around the corner from the 80km/h zone, into what should be the 50km/h, and then into an intersection.

“This is the dodgiest part, we have a lot of children going home to Paparoa Road and they need to cross the road and then the railway line to get there.

“A child died on the road down here after being hit by a car, I think it was about 8-10 years ago; before my time.”

Te Puna resident Dorothy Butt, who owns a storage unit on Borell Road, says the signs were vandalised during the weekend, with one completely ripped out of the ground.

Dorothy and her husband came across the damaged signs sitting outside their property and phoned the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

“We phoned the council yesterday to tell them about the signs and then we received a call from In Roads confirming they had been told about them.

“This morning we saw them putting up new ones, but they must have got confused as it is now an 80km one, not a 50km.”

Dorothy says it has always been a 50km/h zone in both directions.

Neil says even after school hours, cars travelling down Te Puna Road travel past the school at 80-100km/h.

“I will be sitting in my office between 4pm and 6pm and cars go down travelling very fast.

“It’s not just cars, we get heavy vehicles, avocado and kiwifruit trucks, commercial vehicles, they all go past at a fast rate, going up to 80 or 90km/h.”

Neil says the school has approached the council and met with elected members to attempt to secure a crossing for the road, but was told it was not in the budget.

He says there are plans underway to widen the road at the intersection of Borell and Te Puna Road, in an attempt to slow cars down.

Immediately outside the school there are children crossing signs and 50km/h speed signs.

“We had a police officer out here the other day, and he just had a field-day, sitting outside the school, he was constantly doing u-turns – he must have got at least eight infringements in 20 minutes.

“People just ignore the signs.”

Neil says he would like to see flashing crossing signs erected and more patrolling of the area around the school.

“Even speed cameras would be quite good, but I know there are some resourcing issues.”