THE speed limit around seven Whangarei schools could be lowered to 40km/h if a bylaw is passed to create school zones in the district.
Hurupaki School, Kamo Primary, Tikipunga Primary, Parua Bay School, Onerahi Primary, Maunu School and Manaia View School have met the criteria for having a speed restriction zone,
which will mean a 40km/h speed limit during school hours.
The zones could be completed in the next couple of months, after consultation with the schools, if a bylaw is introduced. The speed limit restrictions will be discussed at a Whangarei District Council Works and Services committee meeting tomorrow, council traffic manager Wayne Davison said.
The council assesses the schools on a variety of criteria including the current speed limit and condition of the road outside the schools, and numbers of entrances to the school.
If the bylaw goes ahead, specially-erected signs will signal a speed limit of 40km/h around the school during school hours.
The council has already purchased the signs, and costs per school in signage and administration - once all the legal requirements are met - are estimated to be $35,000.
The creation of school zones comes two years after the idea was first promoted by Whangarei police. The council is currently working through assessing all schools in the Whangarei district.
It is also a year on from a crackdown by Whangarei police against drivers who speed past schools. Generally, police tolerance is 10km/h above the speed limit, but that has been lowered to 4km/h in school zones during school time - meaning motorists are ticketed for driving 55km/h.
And Whangarei highway patrol boss Senior Sergeant Alastair Ward is frustrated that drivers still aren't getting the message about speeding past schools.
Mr Ward recalled one woman he stopped driving 65km/h, said she was late dropping off her child at the school. "It's bad enough drivers speed past any school, but if it's a parent has kids at that school, that's scary."
