The project will introduce traffic lights, refuge crossings and levelled street crossings throughout the north end.
Pembroke School principal Brent Godfery said the improvements would help pupils get to school safely.
Children were using the zebra crossing on Thames Highway, between Farnham and Harlech St, to get to school.
Pembroke School was employing someone to help pupils cross the road but close calls and accidents were still being seen.
The proposed lights would make the crossing easier for everyone, he said.
It would improve the way pupils got to and from school, he said.
Mr Godfery hoped the safety measures would encourage more children to walk to school.
The existing zebra crossing will be updated to a signal crossing with traffic lights.
Traffic lights will also be introduced at the Arundel St-Regina Lane intersection and the Redcastle Rd intersection with Thames Highway.
Both will have signal-controlled pedestrian crossings and marked lanes for turning vehicles.
Signal control is expected to address existing traffic flow issues and provide safe crossings for pedestrians.
Two new refuge crossings will also be installed and the existing refuge between Ettrick St and Elizabeth Cres will be updated.
The new crossings will be placed between Waitaki Ave and Balmoral St and the second between Sandringham St and College St.
A further 13 street entrances on the west side of the highway will also be upgraded.
Between Orwell St and Stirling St, the entrances will be narrowed and a level crossing for pedestrians will be added.
The changes will mean vehicles turning from the highway will go 5kmh to 10kmh slower.
Upgrades will not affect parking along side roads but will help pedestrians have a safer route.
A total of nine crossing points will be situated on the highway, north of Orwell St.
The project is fully funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency through the government’s climate emergency response fund and will not affect the council’s existing road maintenance and emergency repair budgets.
The budget for the project is $3 million. Work is expected to begin later this year and be completed by March 2024.
Before it starts, the district council will be modelling the new street entrances using temporary bollards.
Waka Kotahi urban mobility manager Kathryn King said the goal was to create safer streets that would be open to everyone.
"We all want children to have the freedom to confidently walk or bike to school, and people to have the option of biking to the shops or to work," she said.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said the north end had had traffic issues for a long time, especially when schools started and finished.
"This work will make our streets safer, allowing more children to walk, scoot and bike to school."
— Staff reporter
