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Street orderlies get thumbs up

Clean sweep: Remuera's Victoria McArthur is a fan of street orderly John Marychurch and the council's expanded street cleaning service.

From City Scene, published on 31 August, 2008

Remuera's streets have been getting an extra sprucing up since street orderly John Marychurch started there in July, after Auckland City Council approved an extra $465,000 to expand street cleaning services in 12 of our busiest town centres.

Victoria McArthur, manager of the Remuera Business Association, says having a street orderly has made a huge difference to the area's cleanliness. "John's a great addition to Remuera. Since we've had him working up here Monday to Friday for about five hours a day, we've noticed a vast improvement in the cleanliness of our street," she says. "It's a fantastic initiative from the council."

Street orderlies are a familiar sight in 25 town centres across the city. They patrol all of the major commercial centres with their barrows during the day, collecting loose litter, emptying rubbish bins, reporting graffiti, and servicing public toilets and street furniture.

The extra funding has seen these services expanded in Onehunga, Remuera, Glen Innes, Otahuhu, Mt Albert and Panmure town centres – and has provided a street cleaning orderly service for the first time for town centres in Ellerslie, Mission Bay, St Heliers, Mt Roskill, Balmoral and Mt Eden Village.

"As our city evolves and daytime activity increases, some locations require additional cleaning," says chairperson of the council's Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee, Councillor Greg Moyle. "Employing street orderlies in town centre locations will ensure that we have good standards of cleanliness at all times, even during the busiest periods of the day," he says.

The town centres selected to receive the extra service were assessed with input from community boards on such factors as their current state, current use and future plans for the centre.