Local Tauranga school students can now safely cross Fraser Street between 17th and 18th Avenue, thanks to a new signalised crossing.
Baxter Carlin, Year 8 at Tauranga Intermediate School, uses the new crossing most days and says it is great that it’s now safe and easier to cross.
“It used to be so hard to cross the road. Last year I saw a friend of mine get bumped by a car when he was trying to cross after school,” explains Baxter. “It’s now more accessible and the crossing helps cars slow down.”
Classmate Isla Rudden, also Year 8, agrees. “A lot of kids were nearly getting hit by cars because they had nowhere to cross. Now it’s much better that we can feel safe.”
Tauranga Intermediate School Principal Cameron Mitchell says a safer crossing has been needed for some time, and he’s thrilled the school community now has a reliable and safe place to cross on Fraser Street.
“Prior to the signalised crossing, there was nowhere safe for our students to cross Fraser Street, between Fraser Cove and 15th Avenue, if they wished to access 16th, 17th or 18th Avenue towards Cameron Road. A few years ago, we also had a student seriously injured after they were hit by a vehicle on Fraser Street.”
This new signalised crossing on Fraser Street has recently become operational, along with a crossing at the intersection of Fraser Street and 13th Avenue which is beneficial for students at St Mary’s Catholic School and Tauranga Boys’ College in particular.
Both crossings were funded by Tauranga City Council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to make it safer and easier for school children and nearby residents to cross the road, as well as help reduce vehicle speed on Fraser Street.
Karen Hay, Council's Manager of Safety and Sustainability, says it’s reassuring that there are now safe places to cross along the busy street.
“Through our Travel Safe programme in schools, we teach students how to safely navigate crossing the road. Signalised crossings provide another level of safety for our community however it is still important for people crossing to check before stepping out, even when they get the green signal,” says Karen.
| Image caption | Tauranga Intermediate students (from left) Seongmin Jun, Baxter Carlin, Isla Rudden and Charlie Boyle are happy to now have a safe place to cross on Fraser Street. |