Road patrollers get orange fever for road safety

More than 1200 children, representing over half of Wellington’s primary schools, will march through the city in the annual Orange Day street parade this Friday 1 August. The march is part of the annual celebration of the great work done by school patrols to improve road safety around their schools.

The school patrollers will march from Parliament along Lambton Quay and Willis Street to Civic Square and a celebration at the Wellington Michael Fowler Centre hosted by Wellington City Council.

John Brockies, New Zealand Executive Director at Transfield Services, which supplies the patrollers’ jackets, also recognises the importance of keeping our young people safe.

“Safety is a major priority for us at Transfield Services, so our continuing partnership with the Police in this initiative allows us to give back to the communities we work in.”

Wellington School Community Officer Constable Duncan Ashton, who trains school patrols, says patrollers do a vitally important job for their schools and communities by improving safety during the busiest times on the roads.

"These children are out there volunteering their time to help make Wellington’s roads safer for school children – so this parade is about giving them a reward. Hopefully the parade will also help remind Wellingtonians that they should be extra alert when driving near schools," he says.

This year, to recognise the work these kids do rain or shine throughout the year, we’re encouraging anyone to come down to Lambton Quay or Willis Street and be part of the cheer squad. The children will be competing for prizes of best presence in the parade and best banner, so expect lots of chanting and colour as they go past.

The event is coordinated by Wellington City Council and New Zealand Police, and is supported by Transfield Services and Pak'n Save, Kilbirnie.

The march will start at 10am, with delays expected along this route until about 10.45am due to a rolling road closure for the event.

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