The Star: December 21, 2023

Thursday December 21 2023 The Star
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NEWS 9
Traffic management 75%
of Santa parade’s budget
• By Polly Nichols
COMMUNITY groups are
spending thousands of dollars
on traffic management for
Santa parades and relying on
donors and sponsors to cover
budget shortfalls.
Depending on the size of the
event, they must pay companies
for traffic controllers, road
cones and signage for family
Christmas festivities to comply
with road regulations.
New Brighton Project coordinator
Martha Baxendell
said traffic management for
the not-for-profit organisation’s
parade had jumped from
$874 in 2014 to more than
$8000 this year.
She said it accounted for
about 75 per cent of the Santa
parade’s budget.
“I think at the time, we were
just like ‘well, we haven’t got a
choice. We still just gotta pay
it. So we’re just gonna get on
with it’,” she said.
Baxendell said the New
Brighton Project was facing a
$2000 budget shortfall until a
different traffic management
company stepped in to help
cover remaining costs.
TEN-FOLD INCREASE: Traffic management for the New Brighton Seaside Santa
Parade jumped from $874 in 2014 to more than $8000 this year.
The donor has now offered
to provide traffic management
for free next year.
Christchurch’s Christmas
Show Parade was held at
the Canterbury A&P Showgrounds
but organisers were
still spending $20,000 on traffic
management because the
event affected the normal use
of local roads.
The money also covered
the costs of manufacturing
event signage and transporting
floats from New Brighton
to the showgrounds at a speed
of just 20km/h.
City council transport
operations manager Stephen
Wright said legislative changes
were partly to blame for the
price hikes.
“We are unable to surmise
why costs from TTM (temporary
traffic management)
companies have risen, however
there is a growing awareness
of risk due to changes in
legislation within the last eight
years which require organisers
to make sure that they take
reasonably practicable steps
to not cause harm or injury
to anyone as a result of their
activities,” he said.
New Zealand Transport
Agency Waka Kotahi road
works safety programme
director Ryan Cooney said
traffic management costs
depended on the scale of the
event.
“If an event does not
change the normal operating
conditions of the road,
temporary traffic management
is likely to be cheaper,” he said.
– RNZ
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