Susan O’Regan
A Te Awamutu College student has a broken ankle after an accident involving a car outside the college.
The accident occurred last week on Alexandra Street, between College Street and the dairy.
Councillor Susan O’Regan told the Waipā District Council Service Delivery committee this week she was concerned the council did not appear to be addressing the road’s dangers.
A man was struck in the same section of the road last year and suffered minor injuries.
“It’s certainly not the first time where concerns about safety in that area have been raised,” said O’Regan.
She asked transportation manager Bryan Hudson if anything was happening to improve the safety of the area, given its accident-prone history.
Bryan Hudson, transportation manager
Hudson and Cr Marcus Gower both agreed the accident was an “education issue.”
Accidents are a common problem outside of colleges, Hudson said.
“It’s not the traffic that needs to change, it’s the attitude of the people using the road that needs to change,” said Gower.
O’Regan said the community needed to address these types of safety concerns but the council “can’t wash our hands of it completely.”
While the council wanted to find a solution, it had to prioritise that with a limited budget in mind. One of the solutions was to extend the 40km speed limit along Alexandra Street, she said.
“There’s lots of talking, but the short answer is no. There’s no money in the kitty,” O’Regan told The News after the meeting.
