Primary children are risking their lives to reach school each day. Conifer Grove demands a solution
Every morning, almost 550 children push through the two entrances to reach their classrooms at Conifer Grove School. Some pupils, from 5 to 13 years old, run across the street from behind parked cars to
make it on time. Every afternoon, hundreds of parents are back to pick up their kids. Cars line the curvy narrow streets of the small community, causing traffic mayhem and near misses. Father of two and president of the Parent Teachers Association, Robert Green, is concerned about children's safety. He would like to see Papakura District Council develop a piece of common ground next to the school as a drop-off zone. "We don't want to wait for an accident, we are trying to be proactive," says Mr Green. In his quest to ease congestion, Mr Green has asked Papakura District Council, formally, for the drop-off zone. The land Mr Green would like to use part of a reserve on Evanda Cres that connects the Conifer Grove community to Manukau Harbour. The principal of Conifer Grove School, Jan Robertson, supports Mr Green's efforts and hopes the council will, too. "Our main concern is safety," she says. "The number of near misses we see is scary." The school has already tried to educate families on road and pedestrian safety. They have invited the police to help with the congestion and have tried to encourage walking school buses for students. But, as the weather turns colder and wetter, many parents will continue to transport their children by car. Mrs Robertson believes a drop-off zone with a car park would benefit the whole community. "School functions would use the parking as well as people walking from the reserve down to Manukau Harbour," she says. A drop-off zone will also help the local shops. Parents often park in the public car parks to avoid becoming snarled up in school traffic. "The shops get upset, and fair enough. They pay quite a bit for those spaces," says Mrs Robertson.
Discussions on the submissions will be held on Monday, May 19.
