Hillcrest crossing patroller runs 3pm pickup like a swiss customs official

A crossing patroller outside a Hillcrest primary school has developed a cult following, after nine years of running the 3pm crossing with the warmth of an airport security lane.

Denise Corbett, 61, works the crossing on the main road down from the school. She has, by all accounts, memorised every number plate in a two-kilometre radius. Parents who idle across the yellow lines get "the look". Parents who beep get worse.

"She pointed her stop sign at my husband's ute last Thursday," said Hillcrest parent Aroha Bennett, waiting in the pickup queue. "Didn't say anything. Just pointed. He reversed twenty metres. He's 44. He works in compliance."

A second parent, who asked to be identified only as "a Ranger driver who's learned", said Denise once held traffic for ninety seconds so a Year 2 could finish tying her shoelace. "Nobody beeped. Nobody's ever beeped twice."

The PTA has floated a thank-you morning tea. Denise is understood to have declined, on the grounds that mornings are for the Chartwell crossing and she doesn't eat store-bought scones.

STATEMENT FROM HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL

Hamilton City Council is aware of community interest in the school crossing patrol operating adjacent to the Hillcrest school precinct. Council acknowledges the valued contribution of school crossing patrollers across the wider Hamilton network.

It has been brought to Council's attention that concerns have been raised regarding driver conduct during afternoon pickup periods. Council reminds motorists that stopping on yellow lines is a matter for enforcement partners, and not, at this stage, Council officers.

A review of pickup-related traffic flows in the Hillcrest catchment has been scheduled and will be undertaken in due course. Community consultation will follow at an appropriate time. Council appreciates the patience of residents while this work is progressed.

Any queries regarding the conduct of individual crossing patrollers should be directed, in the first instance, to the school.