Urgent talks on school traffic issues

A typical 2.30pm scene outside the entrance to Tauriko School, with a long line of traffic backed up on SH29's median. Photo/John Borren

HIghway traffic could be slowed to 40km/h past Tauriko School when children are being dropped off and picked up in a bid to counter mounting fears of a serious crash.

High-level meetings involving education and roading authorities have led to several proposals to lower the risk outside the school gates.

The issue has been given added urgency by the realisation that the investigation to re-route the highway away from the school had virtually gone back to square one.

School principal Suzanne Billington (pictured) said although flashing lights warned motorists at the start and end of the school day, the speed limit had remained at 70km/h.

Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington.

The New Zealand Transport Agency was studying ways to engineer the safe slow-down to 40km/h because going from a 70km/h to 40km/h zone needed a considerable distance.

Mrs Billington said the school's master plan included a short-term measure to create more carparks off the road. "It will alleviate some of the issues but not solve the whole thing."

Tauriko School reduced congestion in the afternoon by having parents meet a bus at drop-off points starting with The Lakes and including Cambridge Rd.

Mrs Billington was happy with what had been achieved. "It is nice to have people meeting together to find a solution before something terrible happened."

However, the best outcome would be to reroute the highway so it did not pass the school.

This awaited decisions on a new study by Western Bay's urban growth planners into whether land should be opened up for development along Tauranga's western corridor through Tauriko. The corridor included farms owned by property developer Bob Clarkson, behind the school and service station.

SmartGrowth implementation manager Duncan Tindall expected the big-picture strategy to be completed early next year.

It would set the parameters of how much land they might be looking at. If it led to further work, it would dovetail with studies by the NZ Transport Agency on the future route of SH29.

He said that if growth capacity was identified along the corridor, the second phase of work would be what that growth might be and what infrastructure would be needed to service the new areas.

The current SmartGrowth plan excluded any land in the western corridor.

Mrs Billington agreed with Mr Clarkson that the development of his land behind the school offered another solution. Mr Clarkson has not only offered the school a big drop-off and pick-up area on the road that would run behind the school, he said it could link into the subdivision's sewerage system.

Mrs Billington said the school was looking to spend about $170,000 to upgrade its old septic tank and field tile system to modern specifications. It would be more timely and cost effective to link it into Mr Clarkson's system but she was not anticipating that would happen soon.

The previously favoured alternative route for SH29 was a bypass through the Tauriko Business Estate. Developer Bryce Donne said there was nothing to prevent them putting the bypass through the estate but he warned it would get harder.

As development of the estate progressed, the agency's options for the corridor would close.

Factors affecting safety outside Tauriko School
Current traffic passing the school: 14,500 vehicles a day.
Growth in traffic since 2010: 570 vehicles a day.
Growth in roll 2014-15: 41 pupils (15 per cent).