Collaborative approach to Waimatā road safety fears

Grant McCreedy of Downer traffic management and Waimata Valley resident Laura Watson with six-year-old son George in front of the pilot vehicle which drove in front of the local school bus for a week to slow down increased logging traffic on the road.Picture by Liam Clayton

A Waimatā Valley resident and  mother who took her safety concerns over increased logging traffic to the chief executive of a forestry company has had a positive response.

Laura Watson decided to take action out of fears for the safety of children on the school bus travelling on Waimatā Valley Road to and from Waimatā School in the morning and afternoon.

“There had been a number of concerns raised by parents in regards to the increased logging traffic on the road and a number of near-misses reported by residents,” Mrs Watson said.

She contacted Aratu Forest CEO Neil Woods, who consulted with other forestry leaders, drawing attention to the issue in a bid to ensure all road users slow down on the narrow rural road.

Mr Woods also contacted Downer and school bus contractor Go Bus was brought into the mix to help come up with a quick solution to the issue.

“Everyone is under a bit of heat at the moment,” Downer project manager Pat Thomson said. “Gisborne District Council are doing their best to get roads open and maintaining them.”

But with no alternative routes open, logging traffic had increased on the rural road.

After collaboration “we sat down and had a yarn (and) working alongside each other we came up with the concept of putting a pilot vehicle in front of the bus for the morning and afternoon runs, and run that pilot vehicle for a week.”

A flag was waved to oncoming traffic to slow drivers down.

There was a “noticeable change in all road users” and “it allowed for the bus driver to focus on the road”, Mr Thomson said.

Downer sponsored the cost of the vehicle.

“Without the cross-company collaboration from all involved, this quick turnaround could not have been achieved,” Downer customer stakeholder manager Lynne  Chaffey said.

“If we need to go back and reiterate the need to slow down and be mindful of traffic, we are quite happy to do that.”

Go Bus was pleased school bus safety was recognised and that the community and forestry companies worked together to enhance safety measures.

“We also want to remind other road users that with schools going back on Monday, all vehicles must slow down to 20km past a stationary school bus in both directions,” a Go Bus spokesperson said.

The fast action taken provided some much-needed assurance for all.

“It was an incredible response and was really appreciated by our community,” Mrs Watson said.

“I think the whole situation has been a good wake-up call for all road users in Waimatā, I feel a lot more comfortable with my son catching the bus now.”