Speed reductions on the way for Mid Canterbury school
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Students from Longbeach School told councillors in no uncertain terms they need a speed reduction outside their rural Mid Canterbury school.
They will likely finally get their wish.
The student leaders told the councillors their principal, Neil Simons, had requested a speed reduction back in 2009 and the school was still waiting, which was “not OK”.
“It’s now 2022 and the speed limit past our school remains at 100kph,” Addison Griffiths said.
The students wanted to know why other schools have had speed reductions while their road “remained a significant danger to the children who cross this daily”.
Their presentation was soon followed by the Ashburton District Council approving an interim speed management plan to go out for public consultation that focuses on reductions around schools -including Longbeach School.
Roading manager Mark Chamberlain said as a category 2 rural school, it’s eligible for a 60kph variable speed limit.
“It hasn’t been enabled to have a lower speed limit under previous rules and guides, and getting approval from Waka Kotahi for a reduction,” he said.
“Longbeach, along with other rural schools, have actually got the ability to reduce the speed limit on those [roads] now.”
The rules also extend to more than just the school frontages he said, it’s the route to schools which is why some of the proposed changes extend a bit further.
Chamberlain said the council had about $600,000 to install the variable speed signs.
Once the consultation for the interim speed management plan is completed, the proposed changes will go before the council for final approval.
Chamberlain said the hope was to have the school changes in place for the start of the new school year.
Reducing speeds around schools is an important safety measure Chamberlain said, but it’s not where the fatalities happen.
“The big discussion is what we are going to do with our rural roads.”
“We are doing our schools and everyone says ‘schools that’s great, that’s easy’ but that’s not where we are having our crashes and our fatalities.
“Our fatalities are on rural roads and rural intersections in particular, and yet they seem to be the ones we want to do the least work on and that’s part of the discussion we still have to have.”
That discussion will help form the regional speed management plan for 2024-27.
Proposed School speeds:
Category 1 with 30kph permanent speed limit:
Allenton School, Ashburton Borough School, Ashburton Christian School, Ashburton College, Ashburton Intermediate School, Ashburton Netherby School, Chertsey School, Fairton School, Hampstead School, Hinds School, Lauriston School, Mayfield School, Mt Somers Springburn School, Rakaia School, St Joseph's School, Tinwald School.
Category 2 with 60kph variable speed limit:
Carew Peel Forest School, Dorie School, Lagmhor School, Longbeach School, Wakanui School.
Category 1 with 30kph permanent or variable speed limit treatment:
Methven School, Mt Hutt College, Our Lady of the Snows School.
(Frontage shared with the state highway therefore will be affected by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s speed management plan).
Here's Friday's Fizzler!
I can be written, I can be spoken, I can be exposed, I can be broken. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
-
48.2% Yes
-
49.8% No
-
1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
Loading…
