St Mary's School principal Trina Eastwood contacted the Otago Daily Times after a tail-end crash at the former crossing on Wednesday morning, when a courier van ran into the rear of a vehicle which had slowed to let a pupil cross the road, Mrs Eastwood said.
The former crossing, between Dean St and Cromwell St, is considered a troublesome traffic safety area by the school, and pupils have been given special training since it was decommissioned by the council in January, she said.
Police education officer Senior Constable Jeanette Parcell said a pedestrian crossing on the busy road was a "necessity for traffic safety", both for pupils and St Mary's church parishioners.
A meeting has been organised with council traffic engineers and school staff to discuss the possibility of reinstating the crossing, Snr Const Parcell said.
The courier van driver was likely to be issued with an infringement notice for failing to stop, she said.
Senior traffic engineer Ron Minnema said he agreed with the rationale behind the decision from predecessor Bruce Conaghan to decommission the crossing.
A survey was undertaken by council traffic staff late last year after Mrs Eastwood raised concerns about a lack of signs at the former crossing after another near-miss.
The survey had found the crossing was underused and on average only six people used the crossing daily.
Mr Minnema said it was a matter of education for the many motorists using the road, who were also long-term residents of the area.
"There are many types of pedestrian crossings and there is a refuge island in the middle, which allows people to cross the road in two movements."
Motorists were used to stopping to give way at the site and this continued to cause issues, Mr Minnema said.
"Motorists need to be aware of the change and react accordingly,"
A St John spokesman said an ambulance paramedic team had attended the incident, but no treatment or transport was needed.
Mrs Eastwood said school pupils now wore high-visibility jackets when walking to school, but the crossing site continued to cause confusion for motorists and more needed to be done by the council.
