Mount Maunganui College headmaster Mr Collett, complains he is 'staggered drivers still breaking the law after student's death”. It is little wonder that many motorists are not obeying the current 50 kph speed limit on Maunganui Road in 2008, in place of the quite reasonable 70 kph limit. The unpredictability of parents and students was the major issue. The TCC bylaw was a PC kneejerk reaction by council to a perceived rather than a real problem and related to an incident that had nothing to do with motor vehicle speed.
It was ridiculous to ever put this lower speed restriction in place and the TCC bylaw may not in fact be lawful. Speed Infringement Notices, if issued, may not stand up in court and even the police would not confirm whether, in their view, the council's bylaw was legal or not. Any perceived problems were resolved by removing all vehicle parking on the railway side of Maunganui Road and the public obviously still see the TCC bylaw as bad which it is. As pointed out by the Police and Transport NZ in 2008, it is a bylaw that contravenes the Land Transport Rules Setting of Speed Limits 2003, i.e. it is what the motoring public perceive to be an appropriate speed for traffic to travel in this area that is the real test.
Virtually no traffic travels in this zone at 50 kph since the by-law was enacted. Anyone receiving a traffic infringement notice for speeds over 50 kph should defend them. In 2009, police withdrew a prosecution relating to a minor breach of the 50 kph limit and clearly lacked confidence that they could obtain a conviction under the TCC bylaw. Greenpark Primary School is in much the same position as Mount College. There is no parking allowed on the racecourse side of Cameron Road for 1km and no houses there so no reason for pedestrians to cross the road or cars to u-turn. No recent personal accident history in either spot.
If these two locations posed a genuine danger to children or pedestrians, I would be the first to support the call for lower speed limits. The truth is they do not and TCC and the Police know it. There is no reason for pupils to cross the road from either school for considerable distances, if at all.
R Paterson, Matapihi.