‘Garden City Guides’ to roam streets

Press, 23 January 1984, Page 6

‘Garden City Guides’ to roam streets

A new brigade of people in uniform will soon appear in the streets of central Christchurch. They will be known as the, "Garden City Guides” and will roam the City Mall and Cathedral Square to give information to shoppers and tourists, lead guided tours, and keep people informed about what the council does and does not allow in the mall and the Square. The eight guides and one supervisor will be employed by the Christchurch City Council for six months under the Labour Department’s Project Employment Scheme. The team would be chosen over the next few weeks and was expected to be at work soon, said the superintendent of the council’s car-parking division. Mr Geoff Stevenson. Before they begin, the guides will be taught public

relations skills and given information about the history of some of the buildings and the shops and services available. Mr Stevenson said the supervisor would take over some of the duties done by the mall’s former manager, who no longer worked for the council. Three information booths were planned and these would be staffed by the guides. “It’s mainly a public relations job. The guides will help the public and educate them about by-laws,” he said.

The council was concerned that some of the bylaws relating to the mall and the Square were not being observed. He said people illegally driving or cycling through the City Mall had caused a problem, and four people had recently been knocked down by cyclists in the mall. Mr Stevenson said the council hoped the presence of the guides would improve the image of the mall.

“The council is very concerned that the mall does not lose its identity and become a street again," he said.