Board ban upsets Tiritiri helpers

DIANA Dombroski pulls a small photo album from her badge-covered backpack. Flicking through the pictures she points out  birdlife on Tiritiri Matangi island.

"That's a tui. They make a sound like

taffeta when they fly  past," says Mrs Dombroski, a volunteer on the open sanctuary island in the Hauraki Gulf.

"And look at him, he's stuffed full of  kowhai flowers," she says, turning the page and pointing to a plump  keruru (wood pigeon). "It's a unique place."

But since the Auckland Council enforced a ban on sandwich boards, visitor numbers to the island have slumped by a quarter.

360 Discovery Cruises, the service organising and advertising trips to the island and others in the  gulf, was forced to remove  its only form of advertising.

Manager Tony Galloway, who runs the company's kiosk at Pier 4 on Quay St's waterfront, says there has been a 23 per cent fall in visitor numbers.

"All of those were out," he says pointing to the large sandwich boards now crammed into the kiosk entrance.

"At the end of May we were told to pull them in. Passenger numbers since have dropped significantly."

Mrs Dombroski says  although development on the waterfront has expanded she feels losing the sandwich boards means tourists are missing the jewels of Auckland's harbour and gulf.

"It's great for tourism. People get off the big cruise liners and walk right past here. We want to show people there's more to Auckland than rugby, but this is being squeezed out."

The cruising company is owned by the Fullers Group. Its general manager of support services, Michael Fitchett, is asking the council to review the decision to remove all of 360 Discovery's sandwich boards.

"I think what happened was there was a lot of squabbling over sandwich boards. I've put in a submission to the council. I'm still waiting on a letter of support from Auckland Transport," he says of the council-controlled organisation from which Fullers leases its land.

"The problem is time's slipping by."

Coupled with the ban on sandwich boards, the kiosk stands between two historic buildings, which cannot carry advertising. "We've got a double whammy here," he says.

He notes the council recognises the area as a place for maritime activity: "So you need to make people aware they can undertake some kind of maritime activity."

Mr Fitchett says the boards have also been useful in making passengers aware of biosecurity measures for the island as a  pest-free sanctuary.

"We need to alert people to the fact that things are different. You've got to be aware you're going to a special place."

A section of the bylaw states sandwich boards cause obstructions to foot traffic.

Auckland Council public affairs and media manager Glyn Walters says the council has received a number of complaints about sandwich boards obstructing access in the central city and it endeavours to apply the bylaw

consistently and fairly.

But Mrs Dombroski argues the area outside the kiosk is so wide there is plenty of room for the boards without obstructing pedestrians. "The pavement's at least 18ft  wide here. It's ridiculous. You could walk 10 abreast."

Mr Walters says the council's preference is to proactively address breaches before they result in complaints and they have been approaching businesses in breach of the bylaw with this in mind. "We will be working closely with 360 Discovery Cruises to resolve this matter and assist them further."

SEE ALSO: Fishing For Answers, P14-16.