KEY POINTS:
From the rescheduling of rubbish collection times, to rostering police officers to stand guard overnight at Holy Trinity Cathedral, organising the state funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary has been a mammoth effort.
And no detail has been left unchecked.
Various groups such as the police, the Auckland City
Council and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority have come together to ensure events run as smoothly as possible.
Police operations manager Inspector Derek Davison said yesterday that the organisation's objectives were to get people to and from key locations with ease.
Parnell Rd (St Georges Bay Rd to Maunsell Rd), St Stephens Ave (Brighton Rd to Parnell Rd) and Birdwood Cres will be closed from about 10am to 2pm.
"We will facilitate the cortege from the Holy Trinity Cathedral to Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium which will be done through a green wave [where the traffic lights are locked on green] so we don't have any stops or starts."
The cortege will travel at about 15km/h, and its route has been amended slightly.
Instead of travelling on Museum Circuit, it will travel along Cenotaph Rd before turning right onto The Crescent, then left onto Domain Drive.
"Police will be carrying out point duty at every major intersection as the cortege journeys on its route from the cathedral to Remuera and St Johns roads," said Mr Davison.
"Mobile patrols will stop or divert vehicles that are travelling in the opposite direction to the motorcade. Anyone intending to carry out any overtaking manoeuvres will be stopped."
He said at least 60 police officers would be on duty.
"We will also monitor the event from the sky with the police helicopter Eagle to give us traffic updates and so on."
He said a notice had been sent out for pilots not to fly over the Holy Trinity Cathedral or Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium.
"It's an aerial safety thing. What we don't want is a clutter of aircraft in that confined air space."
Last night, two officers stood guard at the cathedral.
"The police response overall is very muted. We are there but we are not intruding."
Mr Davison warned retailers and residents to lock their doors if they planned to stand on the street to watch the cortege, saying: "There are burglars out there waiting."
Household rubbish in the vicinity of the cathedral and Auckland Domain was collected last night instead of this morning.
ARTA provided free shuttle buses yesterday between Britomart and the cathedral, where Sir Edmund has been lying in state.
Today, free shuttle buses will operate between Britomart (stop D6) and the Auckland Domain, where a 38m by 38m screen will be used to broadcast Sir Ed's funeral.
The buses will travel to the Domain via Custom St East, Anzac Ave, Symonds St, Grafton Rd, and Park Rd.
Buses will depart every 10 minutes between 8.30am and 3pm, picking up passengers at all stops along the route.
Free travel will also be available today on the Link bus between 8am and 4pm, courtesy of NZ Bus.
The Link bus operates every 10 minutes and travels clockwise and anti-clockwise around a route that includes the Auckland CBD, Parnell, Newmarket, Karangahape Rd, Ponsonby and Victoria Park.
ARTA will also provide extra train services. People travelling on the Western Line are advised to get off at the Boston Rd stop for a 10-minute walk to the Domain.
The Southern Line will have additional Britomart to Newmarket shuttles before and after the funeral, with a 15-minute walk to the Domain.
Passengers using the Eastern Line are advised to catch the courtesy shuttle, the Link bus or transfer to Southern Line trains from Britomart and get off at Newmarket, or catch a Western Line train and get off at Newmarket or Boston Rd.
