Sandwich board sign ban hard to swallow for businesses

Sandwich boards may seem innocuous to the average shopper, but a battle is currently being waged over their presence on Nelson’s streets.

Nelson City Council is debating whether it should ban the boards on the footpath as part of an update of its Urban Environments Bylaw.

Businesses see the boards as tools to boost customer numbers, but for those who are blind or low vision, or have mobility issues, they can be hazards as they travel around town.

Tim Babbage from Beggs Music has been a retailer in the city for 39 years and said sandwich boards are more effective than his overhead sign or window advertising at enticing people into his store.

“People walk into my store and buy things based on promotions we have on our sandwich board,” he told a council hearing panel on Wednesday.

Babbage said Nelson’s retail sector is struggling and businesses need to attract customers.

“Sandwich boards are not the big issue of this city, it’s actually having people come to town, go shopping, and spend money. I can’t pay my rates if I don’t have an income; if people don’t come into my shop, I don’t have income,” he said.

“If we take away some of what makes Nelson vibrant, then we’re just driving the town further down.”

Yusuf Corten from Kebab Kitchen echoed similar sentiments, saying that the town was “nearly dead”, and that the council should do more to support local businesses rather than banning sandwich boards.

“I really don’t know if after two months I’ll still have a business or not,” he said. “Help businesses, don’t try and kill more.”

But for Karen Wilson, a spokesperson for the Nelson branch of Blind Citizens NZ, sandwich boards are an “unsafe” obstacle.

“We want to go into the shop to spend our money,” she said.

However, those who are blind and low-vision can struggle to find the store entrance if sandwich boards are by the door.

“There’s parts of Nelson I do not shop in because I just can’t get into them, it’s too difficult.”

Wilson also highlighted how blind and low-vision people are taught to use the side of buildings to help navigate, which is made difficult when sandwich boards are placed against the wall.

Elizabeth Perrone, chair of CCS Disability Action Nelson and Marlborough, thought banning the boards on public land would be a “positive step for Nelson and the disabled community”.

But she was concerned about a proposal to reduce the width of footpath space to be kept clear from 2 metres to 1.8m.

Perrone also drew attention to Nelson’s ageing population and said those aged 65 and older were more likely to be disabled with physical impairments.

“This city is growing and developing into an open space for people of all ages, able-bodied or not.

“Keeping sandwich boards and reducing the footpath width does not add to that image, except to create an environment that is crowded and hazardous to those of us with disabilities.”

If sandwich boards were retained, she would prefer them to be placed along the curb rather than by storefronts, provided mobility parks were kept clear.

Both Wilson and Perrone thought the rules around sandwich boards should be more strictly enforced.

If sandwich boards are banned, it would apply only to public land. The boards would still be allowed on private land.

Lawyer Daniel Jackson also presented to the hearings panel on a different clause of the proposed amendments to the city’s Urban Environments Bylaw.

He was concerned that restrictions on rough sleeping in the city centre were disproportionate to the problem that was trying to be addressed – the obstruction of the footpath and anti-social behaviour creating an unsafe or intimidating environment.

The proposed amendments would prohibit sleeping in or occupying a public place in the city centre for more than two hours during the hours of darkness.

“Those problems could be addressed by narrower prohibitions that actually target those issues, rather than a blanket prohibition on, for example, rough sleeping,” he said.

“I would read that it sort of seems like a sledgehammer cracking a nut, and that makes it hard to justify.”

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.