Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018
INSIDE: Smoke alar m saves mother and daughter P3
Life through the lensP4
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Safer school journeys Fernridge’s walking school bus takes top award
Emily Ireland Cars reaching speeds of up to 85kmh past Solway Primary School last month shocked the community. So, what makes a posted speed limit of 80kmh past Fernridge School acceptable? Fernridge, a rural school just five minutes away from Solway Primary is making waves in road safety, recently winning
an award at a national level for their Walking School Bus initiative. But with a speed limit of 80kmh past the school, there’s only so much that can be done to keep their students safe. Principal Janine Devonport said she often raised her hands with despair while out on crossing duty. “How we have not had a fatality or at least a major
pile up due to impatience is beyond me,” she said. “It is just ridiculous.” Masterton District Council rural roading engineer Alec Birch agreed with the frustrated principal and said a permanently lowered speed limit at the school would be safer, “but a tricky one”. There is a bright yellow sign at each end indicating people go 40kmh when children are present. But Birch said the best way to ensure drivers did slow down was to
“squeeze the speed out of them” with road features like kea crossings. Kea crossings are manned crossing points which run before and after school hours and involve school patrol stop signs which swing out onto the road. “When the school is finished with its various ongoing construction, we will have a sit down to discuss safety options,” Birch said. “But we have to have a consistent policy across all the rural schools.”
He said a speed limit review was underway nationally which would evaluate speed limits on rural roads and limits around schools. For the time being, Fernridge will focus on celebrating their latest achievement in road safety. They were presented with a Golden Foot award in Parliament at the end of last month for their Walking School Bus initiative. The initiative, which kicked off a few years ago
was launched to combat “parents’ fears” of their little ones walking to school. It is a “safety in numbers” approach to young people learning to get to school independently and involves a group of new entry pupils meeting at a designated point on Upper Plain road and walking 1.2km to school together. The pupils, supervised by a parent or teacher, follow a path that runs alongside the 80kmh road. Continued on page 3
Holly Hullena from the Wairarapa Road Safety Council, Fernridge School principal Janine Devonport, and Masterton District Council rural roading engineer Alec Birch. PHOTO/EMILY IRELAND
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