Mayor Toby and a Mate Keep the Traffic Flowing

By John Freer

Praise yesterday for the two men who controlled traffic on the Thames Coast Road after a lane was blocked – one of them being Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams.

For more than an hour in rain and miserable conditions, Mayor Toby and a friend kept the traffic flowing around a milk tanker which had slipped off the road and come to an unexpected halt.

A volunteer fireman, the mayor had previously mastered traffic management, it was a little different yesterday as there were no cones or high viz jackets, just shorts and bare feet.

As Mayor Toby explained: “We just had to shout at one another, yelling out and using hand signals to keep traffic moving.”

He came across the situation about 3.00pm north of Ruamahanga Bay while driving south towards Thames.

“Drivers were thankful,” said Mayor Toby, this being evident in the positive social media postings thanking the two men for keeping things moving.

The tanker was able to be driven out of the roadside drain.