‘Unsafe crossing’ causes concern

Pater Gallagher is worried someone will be hit on this ‘dangerous’ Papamoa crossing. Photo: John Borren.

A Papamoa man is warning people about a pedestrian crossing he believes is dangerous in the Papamoa Town Centre.

Peter Gallagher is concerned about a crossing at the eastern end of the shopping centre off Gravatt Road.

The crossing is outside Wholefoods Bin Inn Papamoa and the first three metres on either side runs through angle parking. Peter is concerned that people's line of sight is obscured by parked cars.

He was driving one day and didn't see a woman who was nearly on the crossing, she shouted: ‘Hey pedestrian'.

'I felt sorry for her and I felt guilty because I'm only doing 10km/h but it's dangerous,” says Peter.

'I felt terrible because I had my grandson in the car with me.”

Peter says he had no show of seeing the woman until he was right at the end edge of the crossing.

He is worried someone will be hurt and says having the crossing through the parking with no indicator of where the road starts gives pedestrians a false sense of security.

His wife Norma had a near miss at the same crossing, she was walking across it when a car went through quickly.

People's view of the road is blocked by a standard car but vans and four-wheel drives are even worse, says Peter.

He would like to see yellow lines put where the crossing meets the road and potentially remove the lines from the parking area to start the crossing on the road.

There is a yellow line on one side of the crossing just before the road but you still can't see cars until you reach the line, says Peter.

'It's a busy little place. I just want them to make it safe.”

The speed limit for the road is 10km/h.

Peter has contacted the police and Tauranga City Council about the crossing but because it is on privately owned land there is nothing they can do.

He says both organisations were very good and the person he spoke to from the police understood the issue.

Papamoa Town Centre Association administrator Scott Murray says people might mistake the pedestrian areas for parking if the crossing lines are removed from the angle parking area.

He says they could potentially look at different colour markings in the parking bays.

'Safety is important and we will consider what other alternatives could be looked at,” says Scott.

You may also like....