{"id":572668,"date":"2026-08-18T11:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/572668\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:48:15","slug":"te-awamutu-high-schoolers-call-for-crossing-after-students-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/572668\/","title":{"rendered":"Te Awamutu high schoolers call for crossing after students hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sick of seeing classmates hit by cars on their way to school, a Te Awamutu College student has spearheaded a petition to install a traffic-light controlled crossing outside campus.<\/p>\n

By Jordan Smith of Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n

The petition garnered 336 signatures from students, teachers and parents alike.<\/p>\n

“Students have been hit by cars and drivers are on high alert as they worry about possibly injuring someone,” it said. “With a crossing put onto Alexandra Street outside Te Awamutu College, road users will be able to safely cooperate and there will be less risk of injuries.”<\/p>\n

Petition creator James Crowhurst put the case to Waip\u0101 District Council on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Te<\/p>\n

Te Awamutu College Year 13 student James Crowhurst wants peers to make it to school in one piece. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

“Sometimes the driver will stop for me on one side and I need to run across because the driver on the other side has no intention of slowing down, even if I’m already halfway through the crossing,” James said.<\/p>\n

A light-controlled crossing was preferred to a zebra according to the Year 13 student, who said the latter would only worsen traffic during peak hours.<\/p>\n

“I have also spoken to a tanker driver from Fonterra who remains anonymous. They stated being in such a heavy vehicle, they often worry when driving along this road during pick-up and drop-off hours as they cannot slow down fast enough if a student were to run out in front of them.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

James Crowhurst says many students are \u2018very excited\u2019 about the possibility of a crossing. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

“I was given a lot of praise by many students saying they have also been wanting a crossing. Some of those students spoke to their parents about it who also agree and want to improve the safety for their children.”<\/p>\n

Mayor Mike Pettit previously met with James in June to discuss the petition, of which he supported and gave a ballpark cost figure of $500,000 – one described as a “pretty close” guess by staff. Staff later said ratepayer cost could amount to $250,000 if a Government subsidy could be found.<\/p>\n

In the council chambers Pettit doubled down on his support, saying the project is an important piece of infrastructure given the road’s high use, especially by heavy vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"Waipa<\/p>\n

Waipa District Council mayor Mike Pettit is a fan of the idea. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

A cultural mindset change from students realising it’s OK to use a crossing a few metres up the road rather than crossing unsafely is required, he added.<\/p>\n

“If we get this over the line… that’s something that needs to be handed down to your teachers and the students below you,” he said, addressing James.<\/p>\n

“If you provide a good piece of infrastructure, people will use it. I also see it as part of a Te Awamutu CBD upgrade… through the Long Term Plan.”<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/p>\n

Students are partially to blame for the problem, councillor Dean Taylor says. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

Councillor Shane Walsh said the chance of an accident at the college is \u201cincreasing every day\u201d, adding the decision should be a \u201cno-brainer\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t quite understand why it hasn’t happened many years ago but now is the time because the growth is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council moved for staff to consider options as part of the draft 2027-2037 LTP.<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Trump\u2019s new threat to the Middle East, and Kiwis behaving badly. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sick of seeing classmates hit by cars on their way to school, a Te Awamutu College student has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9001,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-572668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-hamilton-waikato","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}