\u201cYou can imagine how that could easily translate into chaos but it didn\u2019t, so we\u2019re pretty stoked with how that\u2019s working.\u201c<\/p>\n
Feedback from locals has been nothing but positive according to Raglan\/Wh\u0101ingaroa councillor Lisa Thomson.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have been more surprised that it\u2019s going well and there will be things that we will need to reflect on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Thomson said the airfield had been critical in the success, with 2000-odd cars parked within walking distance from the town\u2019s centre.<\/p>\n
The design alone has meant parking in town is \u201cno different than a summer\u2019s day\u201d, Thomson says, adding there\u2019s no congestion in the centre of town.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we didn\u2019t have that, it would be a nightmare,\u201d she said, referring to the airfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got lots of signage out, there\u2019s VMS boards that say \u2018no parking at Manu Bay\u2019 … the traffic management team\u2019s out doing a great job … it\u2019s actually working really smoothly from my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
An adult single day bus ticket costs $15. Photo \/ Kelly Hodel, Waikato Times<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s 6500 people out on site at Manu Bay and there\u2019s still the normal action that\u2019s happening in town. For a little community with a one-way bridge, it\u2019s working well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impression\u2019s spread far and wide, as Bech said the Minister of Sport and Recreation Mark Mitchell was \u201cdelighted\u201d at not only the transportation, but the entire operation after a conversation between the pair.<\/p>\n
Minister of Tourism Louise Upston was also in attendance and gave her positive outlook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really impressed by what I saw and will be watching the rest of the competition closely,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the professionalism of the organisers to deliver a great event, to the commitment and skill of the competitors and the very warm welcome, it was fantastic to be part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bech said he would love to see the WSL come back to Raglan, adding capacity could even increase as the council now \u201cknows what we\u2019re doing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Queues for the tournament have been fast and free-flowing. Photo \/ Waikato Times<\/p>\n
He added that while he doesn\u2019t encourage the Government to \u201cdrop surprises of this size on councils\u201d, only providing three months for what is usually a year of preparation, council is grateful to have the opportunity regardless.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be lots of learning so that we can make it smoother for the event organiser, for ourselves and just make sure everyone not only stays safe … but also just has a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomson said the biggest thing to work on for next year would be providing free or subsidised bus travel for locals, but she was ecstatic with how the event is looking and feeling right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeaps of people with their picnic blankets and chairs just set up and then kids just amping to get the signatures of the pros … given the short period of time to get this up and running, it\u2019s something I think the community should be proud of.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew we lived in paradise but now watching all the drone footage, it\u2019s just beautiful. It actually looks like AI, but it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cYou can imagine how that could easily translate into chaos but it didn\u2019t, so we\u2019re pretty stoked with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[223025,534,806,48378,1558,118173,9517,209721,28726,305,14731,2683,111,139,69,2170,8693,213,81941,18694,3946,377,14932],"class_list":["post-435821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-223025","tag-amid","tag-as","tag-bed","tag-been","tag-buses","tag-fans","tag-grinding","tag-hailed","tag-have","tag-league","tag-move","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-plan","tag-raglan","tag-sports","tag-standstill","tag-surf","tag-traffic","tag-world","tag-worries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}