By BERNARD ORSMAN
The 600 or so sandwich boards cluttering Auckland's central city footpaths must go by January.
After a year of treading softly on sandwich boards, the Auckland City Council planning and regulatory committee has decided on a total ban in the downtown area, including open spaces like Aotea and Queen
Elizabeth Squares.
Shops will be asked to voluntarily remove sandwich boards by January, when council officers will place reminder stickers on the remaining signs. From February, the council will remove any sandwich boards that appear on city streets.
Sandwich boards are claimed to be hazards on narrow pavements, blamed for injury to pedestrians walking into them, and denting car doors.
The move has pleased the Heart of the City business group, but alarmed some shopkeepers, who say the move will kill small firms tucked away from the street and others that rely on sandwich boards to draw customers.
John Daube, who runs a men's hairdressing shop on the first floor of the Queens Arcade, off Queen St, said the decision would affect his livelihood.
He said his sandwich board on Queen St, painted in the barber's traditional red, blue and white, attracted casual customers, who represented between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of his business and made it viable.
Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said retailers were evenly split on the issue, but there was an international trend away from using sandwich boards.
"One hundred per cent of our customers are pedestrians and we need a more friendly pedestrian environment."
Mr Swney said Heart of the City was looking at alternatives such as illuminated panels with lists of businesses, and banners.
The council is also installing signs in the city directing pedestrians to public facilities like the art gallery and toilets, as well as cafes and fashion areas like High St.
A survey has revealed that more than 60 per cent of sandwich boards break the rules for street advertising, and at least one coffee shop had five sandwich boards up to 200m away from the premises.
