Play Streets

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Play Streets make play space available by temporarily opening local streets up for play and limiting vehicle traffic so kids and parents can play outside and get to know one another.

Play Street events temporarily restrict vehicle traffic on quiet local streets, so that children and parents can be active, socially connect, and play in their neighbourhood. They are small, resident-led, local events, held on quiet neighbourhood streets during daylight hours.

Who is usually involved in a Play Street?

Anyone can organise a Play Streets event. They are often organised by a group of neighbours, a school, or a community group, e.g. Scouts. Whoever is leading the Play Street event will need to get permission from the council.

What are the key characteristics of a Play Street?

Below are the typical characteristics of a Play Street based on experiences from New Zealand and internationally:

Image courtesy of Waka Kotahi.

Usually organised by neighbours on their own street – and often with support from council or regional sports trust staff.
Simple and low key with a focus on play, physical activity, and community connectivity (as opposed to partying).
Play streets allow children (and adults) to play freely, without organised games or activities. In practice, this means kids cycle, scoot, skate, chalk, skip, hopscotch, kick a ball around and make up games.
Parents and caregivers are responsible for their children.
Held during daylight hours.
Traffic is temporarily restricted from the event area for a defined period – usually 2-3 hours.
The Play Street might regularly recur, e.g. first Sunday afternoon of each month.
The event area is not too large.
All neighbours in the immediate area are consulted and included.
The Play Street is only ‘advertised’ in the immediate neighbourhood. This means it is not an event that the wider public attend. That keeps crowd size and down and will avoid outside traffic coming to the area.
The traffic restriction is set up and stewarded by residents and volunteers (event marshals).
Residents’ vehicles may enter or leave the street at walking speed and under Play Street marshal supervision.
Usually there are no commercial activities at the event (e.g. food trucks or bouncy castles).

Is your street and location suitable for a Play Street event?

Does your street sound like this?	Yes	No	Further guidance
Light traffic – particularly at the time of day or week that you want to hold the event?			This generally means fewer than an average of 1000 vehicles per day Or fewer than 1,000 vehicles per day on a typical day of the event eg Saturday Or has low vehicle numbers at the time of day the event of planned eg. Sunday afternoons Council staff will be able to give you guidance on this
Typically has low traffic speeds.			Typical traffic speeds should be less than 50km/h and the speed limit sign posted at 50km/h or less.
Is it a key through route for traffic?			Council staff will be able to give you guidance on this if you are unsure.
Is the street used as a bus route on the time and day of the event?			No scheduled public bus services will use the road at time of the event.
Is the street regularly or typically used by emergency vehicles?			Not a critical route to a hospital or usual route for Police, fire or emergency.
Do the streets that directly connect to your street have lots of traffic and/or high traffic speeds?			The streets that directly connect to your street should have a sign posted speed limit of 50km/hr or less and not be a busy main road or state highway. Or the streets that directly connect to your street are not too busy at the time of the event.

Is the location of the event suitable?	Yes	No	Further guidance
Will the event be easily seen by traffic from a reasonable distance?			Visibility of the event should not obscured e.g. by a corner, trees or a hill. The event should be easily seen by traffic, e.g. from 100m away if the traffic restriction point is on an intersection, or from 50m away if the traffic restriction point is set back from an intersection. The event should not be located on an intersection controlled by traffic lights.
The event location will have minimal effect on businesses and does not restrict access to an unreasonable or unmanageable number of residences.			Play Streets work better in residential locations, rather than locations with businesses that might need road access during the event. The event should not be in a location that unduly blocks access to a lot of residential properties

Will the event...	Yes	No	Further guidance
Mainly be for people that live on the street or close by?			Play Streets events should be aimed at local people, that live on or near the street
Be held during daylight hours?			Play Streets should have good visibility, so are typically held during daylight hours.
Be for a limited amount of time?			Play Streets are typically run for two to three hours, although there is no hard and fast rule on this. It is about making sure these events do not unduly inconvenience other people. This might be a one-off event or a regular event. For example, once per week or monthly.
Comply with all other council regulations and bylaws.			All other normal regulations and bylaws still need to be complied with such as council bylaws for noise, alcohol and dogs. Your council will be able to give you guidance on this.
Be supported by other people living on the street?			It is important to make sure you involve other people on the street in considering a Play Street event. Play Streets events need to be supported by the majority of residents at the location to ensure the event can run smoothly and safely.
Involve commercial operations or performances, such as food trucks or bands?			The presence of commercial operators may attract the wider public which would increase foot and vehicle traffic. Commercial operations may also increase risk of damage to the street and increase vehicle movements in and out of the event area especially at set up and pack down times.

How to apply

To apply for a Play Street please download the application form.

Play Street application form

For further information give us a call on 06 759 6060 or email us at enquiries@npdc.govt.nz.

We require 10 working days' notice to process the application and give approval.

Health and Safety

Your Play Street should be fun, therefore it is important to think about how to keep everyone safe while playing on the street. The hazards common to most Play Street events are set out below. Please add any other hazards that you can think of, as well as the steps to address them, and agree who is responsible for each step.

Your health and safety plan should be developed and discussed with your organising team and form part of the briefing for the event marshals.

Example Health & Safety Plan

NPDC cannot guarantee that the Play Street application will be approved, and application will be revoked if any of the following conditions are not met:

Play Street should be less than four hours in duration – and should be held during daylight hours.
Any barriers erected for the traffic restriction must be removed immediately if required for access for emergency services or other residents.
On-street parking cannot be refused or restricted.
Traffic may only be restricted on the dates and times specified within the application.
Events must be supervised by adults.
Event will be promoted to neighbours only (not publicised to the general public).
There will be no commercial activities at the event.
If appropriate organisers must clean the street in order to return it to its condition prior to the event. This must be done before the road is reopened.
The organiser of the event is responsible for ensuring that all relevant regulations and bylaws are complied with, such as council bylaws for noise, alcohol and dogs.
The organiser of the event is responsible for ensuring all affected people and businesses are effectively consulted with prior to the intended event date.
The organiser agrees that NZ Police and/or the council representative have the authority to cancel, close down or stop the event and activities within the event at any time.
High visibility garments and suitable enclosed footwear must be worn when operating as an event marshal.
All unloading of event materials from vehicles must be done from a legally parked position and from the non-traffic side of the vehicle.
Once in place, a responsible event marshal must be within sight of and be available to the restricted area access point(s) at all times.
Event marshals are expected to be vigilant and actively monitor vehicle activity, resident and emergency service access requirements throughout the duration of the event.
If at any time it is considered that the safety of those on the street has been compromised, the event activities must stop, all people must leave the road and move to a safe position away from moving traffic. All equipment should be removed from the street before usual traffic movement resumes.
All personnel undertaking the above activity shall be familiar with, and understand, the intentions and requirements of the event safety plan.
Organisers are reminded that it is their duty to postpone, cancel or modify operations due to adverse traffic conditions, weather or any other conditions that may affect the event and the people attending the event.
These requirements do not replace the applicant’s own health and safety policies or plans and the event health and safety plan should be on hand during the event.
The council will not accept any liability for the safety of the event, which is solely the responsibility of the organisers. Parents/guardians should remain responsible for their children throughout the duration of the play street.
NPDC reserves the right to cancel event approval if the event is not implemented in accordance with these requirements or the activities are not managed in a safe manner.

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Play Streets

Who is usually involved in a Play Street?

What are the key characteristics of a Play Street?

Is your street and location suitable for a Play Street event?

How to apply

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