Mother fears lives will be lost outside Bay school

Vanessa Svebakk is concerned that children will get hit by cars outside Tahatai Coast school. Photo/ John Borren

A Papamoa woman fears lives will be lost if something isn't done to curb the speeding cars outside her child's primary school.

Vanessa Svebakk said the road outside Tahatai Coast School had virtually become an extension of the 100km/h Tauranga Eastern Link since the Sandhurst Drive accessway was installed earlier this year - and more needed to be done to keep school children safe crossing the residential Papamoa road.

''There's a big problem with traffic around the school. The near accidents that keep happening. The school's implemented new strategies to cope with it. They mean well but it's not working,'' she said.

''I keep seeing children not being supervised and people aren't doing 50km/h. It's like Gravatt Rd is an extension of the motorway.''

''It's only a matter of time before it happens. The council should have done something ages ago.''

Ms Svebakk said other schools such as Arataki Primary and Te Akau Ki Papamoa had zebra crossings and slower speed signage outside but Tahatai Coast had nothing.

She questioned the school's current safety strategy for dealing with road safety, which involved her and her daughter crossing the road three additional times on their way home.

What was needed was a safer road environment outside of the school and people in the area to drive at safer speeds, she said.

''They're putting children's lives at risk.''

Ms Svebakk said she felt the council was dumping the road safety issue on the school, when the school could only manage its best with patrolled "kea crossings" at two times a day.

''It's not just school hours that I'm concerned about, it's all hours of the day.''

Tauranga City Council transportation manager Martin Parkes said it had been working with the school on a safe travel plan.

Mr Parkes said the school operated two "Kea Crossings", which are on speed humps to assist controlling traffic speeds on school days. A review has begun to analyse crash data, collect traffic speeds and look at the road layout and from this the council could determine what is needed to make the situation safer, he said.

Mr Parkes could not say when the review would be completed or what the outcomes would be.

''If any physical works are required, these will need to be considered in light of other works that are currently budgeted and programmed across the city.''

Mr Parkes said the safety of students ''is of the highest priority and we take safety matters in the vicinity of schools extremely seriously''.

No one from Tahatai Coast School could be reached before publication.