AT agrees to act after school raises speeding concerns

Auckland Transport (AT) has agreed to short-term measures to encourage drivers to slow down when passing Ōrewa Primary, after students monitored vehicles being driven along busy Maire Road at up to 84 kilometres an hour.

A visiting AT official told the school last week that it will also investigate installing safety infrastructure, such as traffic-calming devices, as a longer-term solution.

But the school’s desire for a lower speed limit on Maire Road will depend on central government decisions, senior transportation engineer Ivy Hao of AT’s road safety engineering team said.

After the coalition government signalled a shift on speed limit policy nationwide, AT paused its Safe Speeds Programme and was seeking further direction, since it was required to align with central government policy.

Once AT had an update on the new rule being formulated by government, it would engage with Ōrewa Primary again to propose a lower speed limit near the school, she said.

Hao acknowledged that the school’s concerns about speeding vehicles on Maire Road aligned with AT’s own recorded speed data.

Heavy commercial vehicles were using the road due to new developments underway nearby, and during school pick-up time, some drivers overtook at speed, encroaching on the flush median or even the opposite lane.

The measures that AT recently agreed to include additional signs and road markings to increase drivers’ awareness, and the installation of flexiposts near the pedestrian crossing to visually narrow the road and encourage drivers to slow down.

Principal Claire Janes welcomed the “very constructive meeting” with AT.

The meeting was arranged after Hibiscus Matters sent queries to AT about the situation. A spokesperson said in response that AT was “happy to revisit the location and consider any improvements that could be implemented in the short-term”.

Earlier attempts to get action on the situation included a letter to AT from Ōrewa Primary presiding board member Kerry Gower voicing concern about students’ safety due to the speeding. In response, AT had said the area had a “low collective risk rating” and it could not provide a timeframe for a proposed upgrade to raise the pedestrian crossing.

A “collective risk rating” is the measure of the total number of fatal and serious injury crashes per kilometre over a section of road.

“We are concerned about the safety of our tamariki and have asked for reasonable measures that AT have acknowledged are appropriate,” Gower said at the time. “Does a child need to be hurt in a crash for there to be action?”

Gower said members of the school’s Travelwise team had clocked drivers travelling at up to 84kph along Maire Road. The speed limit is 50kph.

The school responded by using signs to remind motorists to drive carefully around the school.

AT’s head of road safety engineering Michael Brown said in a statement that AT was fully committed to road safety, and would work with the school to improve the existing situation.

“Safety is always our top priority for everyone no matter how they travel – and this is so important around schools.”

Brown also said that, given the government’s pivot on speed limit policy, “we are in a bit of a holding pattern until the new speed setting rule is put in place”.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced in March that Cabinet had agreed on a new Land Transport Rule, to be signed by the end of 2024, reversing what he called the previous government’s “nanny state” blanket speed reductions.

In line with the National-ACT coalition agreement, the new rule will require variable speed limits around schools during pick-up and drop-off times, rather than permanent reductions. Brown said similar approaches were used in parts of Britain, Australia, the US and other countries to prioritise safety.