School children get creative for Streets Alive

Gore school students are getting creative, decorating planters that will feature on streets in their school neighbourhood during the three-month Streets Alive trial.

Gore District Council Roading Asset Manager and Streets Alive project lead Peter Standring said the involvement of the children re-enforced the project’s strong community focus.

“It is fantastic have the schools come on board and get behind this aspect of Streets Alive. It’s also such a great opportunity for the children to get creative.”

Over the next two weeks students from six Gore schools will be painting the planters that will be placed on roads in their area.

The planters are designed to make the streets safer for all road users, particularly the town’s vulnerable road users i.e. older people, young children and people who are mobility impaired.

“These are a recognised tool for slowing traffic and increasing safety. We are confident Gore road users will understand the benefits of reducing speed on our streets for everyone’s safety and well-being, especially around schools,” Mr Standring said.

A group of St Mary’s Primary School pupils were the first to show off their talent on the concrete planters.

St Mary’s principal Annie Nelson said the children had an amazing time painting the planters and have done some fabulous work.

“This is a wonderful project for our kids to get involved in. They are the drivers of the future and as well as playing their part today, they will also understand more about why driving safer and slower is important,” she said.

Planters will also be placed on other key roads around Gore to reduce driver speed.

“We all have family members who may be young, old or mobility impaired. This initiative is to make the roads more useable for them so they can feel and stay safer,” Mr Standring said.

The Streets Alive trials will be rolled out during March and run until June.

Getting community feedback is a critical part of the trials. From the end of March people will be able to give their feedback online at the Gore District Council’s Let’s Talk website www.lets.talk.goredc.govt.nz. The survey will also be available in print.

Community feedback as well as monitoring by the Council will determine whether any changes become permanent.