Improving safety and accessibility near Albany Junior High School

About the project

We’re responding to requests from Albany Junior High School to make safety and accessibility improvements for students and families travelling on foot to and from school.

Appleby Road in Albany can be busy before and after school, with lots of cars turning, stopping, and people walking, scootering, or biking through the area. This can make it hard and unsafe for students, caregivers and the community to cross the road, especially around the school gates.

That’s why we’re installing a new school patrol crossing (kea crossing) outside the school's main gates and adjacent to #2 Appleby Road.

What’s a school patrolled (kea) crossing?

• This is a special type of crossing used outside schools that slows down drivers during peak times.

• It's only active before and after school times and is run by trained student wardens (school patrols) with stop signs.

• It gives tamariki a safe and supervised place to cross the road when traffic is at its busiest.

The changes we're making

• Installing a new school patrol (kea) crossing with poles, near an existing raised platform, so people are more visible when crossing.

• Adding yellow tactile pavers to help visually impaired people cross safely.

• Painting no stopping at all times (broken yellow lines) on approach to the crossing to clear access and for better visibility.

• Putting up new signs and road markings so drivers know they’re near a school and need to slow down.

Benefits to your community

• Safer crossings for children and people with different accessibility needs.

• Encourages walking, biking, and scootering - which is healthier and better for the environment.

• Helps reduce traffic congestion around the school.

• New road markings and signs clarify right of way, improve safety by minimising risk of collisions, and ensures compliance with traffic regulations.

• It's a practical safety solution for a school in a residential area that's busy during peak hours but doesn't need a full-time zebra crossing.

• Raises driver awareness that they're entering a school zone.

• Reduces confusion by creating a clear, consistent system - with student patrols holding stop signs and managing when it's safe to cross.
  
  
  

What happens next

How to contact us

If you’d like to discuss our plans, share what you know about your area or let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed, email us at ATEngagement@at.govt.nz or leave us a comment below by 31 August 2025.

Please mention: Appleby Road, Albany - Kea Crossing - in the subject line.