Both Kristin and Albany Junior are concerned about pupils being knocked over by cars exiting Kristin's grounds, writes Rebecca Lewis. Students are being hit by vehicles exiting Kristin School in Albany. A 12-year-old Albany Junior High School student was knocked over by a car last month as he biked across Kristin's mainexit gate. While he sustained no major injuries, it is not the first time vehicles have collided with pupils at the school's exit, which sits on the roundabout at the intersection of Albany Highway and Rosedale Rd. ``The school is very, very concerned about the dangers for students walking in front of the school,'' says Hock Gan, business manager for Kristin School. ``The cars coming out of the school keep an eye on cars to the right and often miss seeing students walking from the left.'' Mr Gan says the Travelwise Kristin Group and the North Shore City Council have been working on a proposal to replace the roundabout with pedestrian and traffic light signals. Kit O'Halloran, transport specialist for the council, says the replacement of the roundabout is just the first step in upgrading the entire Albany Highway. ``This is just the first stage. We're hoping to place some cycle lanes, both on-road and off-road, as part of our strategic cycle network, because there are so many schools along there. ``We can't keep having children riding along the carriage way there.'' Since the establishment of Albany Junior High School, the number of students walking or biking to school along the Albany Highway has increased, and with the scheduled opening of Albany Senior High School in 2009, even more pedestrians are expected. ``We are very concerned about the safety of our students,'' says Albany Junior High School principal Mike Jackson. ``It's very difficult for students to get through at peak times, but to be fair to cars leaving from Kristin it's difficult for them too as it's a particularly dangerous roundabout.'' Mr Gan says the removal of the roundabout will also stop students from using it as a crossing. ``We do have a lot of our students that use the roundabout to cross the road, which is very dangerous. We warn them in assemblies regularly but that's as much as we can do at this stage, until the proposal goes through for the signal lights.''
