In order to address community safety concerns, work has commenced on the installation of trial traffic calming measures along Willowpark Road North, covering the Mayfair School and Bill Mathewson Park frontages.

This work is in line with submissions received from the Mayfair community to Hastings District Council’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028, and is being carried out in conjunction with the “Innovating Streets for People” project.

The “Innovating Streets for People” project is a pilot programme being undertaken by Council, supported by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets fund. The programme will see a range of safety measures installed outside four Hastings schools – Mayfair, Central, Irongate and Kimi Ora - to deal with traffic speed and volume.

The calming measures outside Mayfair School will consist of a series of three calming points between the northern side of Bill Mathewson Park and Grove Road, using rubber “speed cushions”, and a rubber raised platform zebra crossing at the existing pedestrian crossing outside the school.

As part of the wider project, Council is also looking at enhancing the school frontages to highlight the presence of the schools, and to create an environment that is more people-friendly for the use of students and parents.

Mayfair School principal Ricardo Fox said it would be a fantastic addition to keep local students and whānau safe.

“There have been many ‘near misses’ during my time at Mayfair School – it’s amazing seeing the community vision coming alive.”

The installation works are scheduled to take place over the next couple of weeks, with similar works at the other schools to follow.

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