Crossing injury renews call for lights

By LAUREN OWENS and JULIA PROVERBS
A 10-year-old girl was hit on a Merivale pedestrian crossing this morning - two years after another child was seriously injured at the same spot.
The Merivale School student was taken to Tauranga Hospital just after 8am with minor back injuries after the latest accident, which has prompted calls for traffic lights to be installed.
St John Ambulance staff said the girl was crossing the road on Fraser St, outside the Merivale shops. Two cars were in collision and one had then hit the youngster. Bakery owner Mark Whitaker was the first to rush to the aid of the child.
"I heard that thump of the cars and I knew what it was. As I looked out I saw these legs go up in the air and a girl rolling over the bonnet and I said to my wife 'ring an ambulance'.
He said the girl was sitting on the roadside. " "A lady came and she was a nurse on her way to work and she knew this girl. She told the girl's friend to go home and tell her mother."
Mr Whitaker said it was dangerous and he thought traffic lights should be installed.
"I was sideswiped in my car a couple of months ago when I was pulling out because they go really fast.
"When kids come across, nine out of 10 times when they reach the middle cars on the other side keep coming through. It's crazy."
Merivale Motors owner Robin Forsyth said it was the third time he knew of that a child had been hit on the crossing.
"The intersection itself is ok. It's the drivers' speed and lack of attention. When you've got kids going across the road and drivers not paying attention you're going to have problems."
He agreed that lights were "not a silly idea".
The latest incident has also shaken locals who still vividly remember the day five-year-old Hope Grey was hit in March 2005.
She was seriously injured after being bowled 10m off the crossing and suffered massive head injuries.
"That road is getting busier and busier," said Merivale School principal, Jan Tinetti.
"It's very poorly sited, because of the nature of the road. You can't actually see cars coming until they are reasonably close. It must be difficult for cars to see them [pedestrians]."
Parents now volunteer at the crossing to help children cross safely but that does not start until 8.30am.
"My ideal is I'd like to see somebody come and have a close look at the crossing."
Following Hope Grey's accident, Tauranga City Council was presented with a petition by Merivale Community Centre with 665 signatures, urging them to make it safer for children.
Since then, an island has been constructed in the middle of the pedestrian crossing.
Ruby Merito, Merivale community centre chief executive, said the biggest problem that remained was the incline leading up to the pedestrian crossing.
"You have an incline so cars are speeding up to the pedestrian crossing. It's still around the speed."