Pedestrian, Crossings Fade Away

Northern Advocate, 11 January 1938, Page 6

Pedestrian, Crossings Fade Away

Whangarei’s pedestrian crossings opposite the various town schools have almost ceased to exist. In Bank Street, opposite the Whangarei Primary School, only the faintest white lines are to be seen to indicate that once existed a criss-cross of white lines that gave warning that motorists should stop if necessary to let children or anyone else pass. In addition, the warning word “School,” painted in large letters on the surface of the road has all but faded away.

Presumably,' the reason for the allowing of the traffic signs to fade into oblivion is that the schools arc on holiday, and that the number of children using the road has been reduced. On the other hand there are still large numbers of young people wandering the streets on various holiday pursuits, and traffic in Bank Street is not greatly reduced in the summer months. s

Many tourists and others arc using the highway to the North, and being strangers they cannot know that a crossing used to exist. Will They Forget.

As one motorist put to today, even local drivers will forget that they ever had to exercise particular care at this point and when the schools resume again there will begin the task of educating them to slow down and wait for the children who cross the road. The crossings in front of the schools are the only ones that exist in Whangarei, and a suggestion was made today that it would be of benefit to paint one at some suitable point in Cameron .and Bank Streets, in the business area, not so much for the ordinary adult pedestrian, who is an adept in most cases, in crossing between moving cars, but more for children and mothers who arc hampered with perambula-

te rc. On days when traffic is slack, crossings are hardly necessary, hut on Fridays and on Saturday mornings, it is sometimes awkward to find a gap in the traffic to cross in perfect safety. There are lame people, also, to he considered.

In any event, the laying down of a crossing is a comparativly easy work, though difficulty seems to be experienced in keeping the lines white. They could probably bo tried as an experiment without any harm being done. It would soon be seen if the crossings were appreciated.