Eight ‘slow down’ flexi-posts have been installed along Selwyn St after they were designed by a group of Addington School pupils and Christchurch City Council.
The posts were part of the Innovating Streets for People project to support safer routes to school.
Addington School community liaison Jo Robertson said in 2020 a group of pupils identified the crossings on Selwyn St didn’t feel safe because vehicles weren’t slowing down.
Since then, the school has been lobbying to improve safety measures.
“These then went to council who used their ideas to inform the final design,” Robertson said.
“Rainbow colours, bubble writing and the school tree were important to our tamariki.”
Robertson said the school wants the children to feel safe and confident moving around the community, as well as encouraging active transport.
“One of our school values is being connected citizens,” she said.
The pupils worked with the Dingle Foundation on the creative design for flexi-posts to be installed along Selwyn St near the shops, an area that has recently had a speed limit reduction from 50km to 30km.
The flexi-posts are recycled from a previous project in this area, donated by Downers Construction.
City council acting transport operations manager Stephen Wright said the project’s aim is to develop lighter, quicker and cheaper road safety interventions that could be used to make pupils feel safer walking or scooting to school.
“For the Selwyn St shopping area, students from Addington Primary School were keen to raise awareness of the pedestrian crossing and to encourage cars to slow down a bit more,” he said.
Wright said the pupils designed a colourful and fully reflective sticker to be used on the recycled flexi-posts to make them stand out.
“We are excited to showcase their work and to see if these small interventions help with improving perceptions of safety in this space,” Wright said.
