Circumstances play Scrooge, snare Santa’s truck
A Facebook group that has the support of at least one city councillor is calling on city management to keep a holiday tradition going.
Photo by Whitehorse Star
A TWO-DECADE TRADITION – For more than 20 years, this City of Whitehorse garbage truck delighted pedestrians, motorists and school students as its driver, a beaming Santa Claus, roamed the city, an explosion of colourful Christmas lights adorning his vehicle. Betty Irwin Bian Crist
A Facebook group that has the support of at least one city councillor is calling on city management to keep a holiday tradition going.
City officials are making changes to the tradition of Santa driving around in a garbage truck lit up and decorated for the holiday season.
This year, staff have said a pickup or one-tonne truck will instead be provided to be decorated for the holidays. Due to safety and liability issues, it won’t be lit up while it’s on the road.
Instead, its lights will only shine when it arrives at a destination.
“I want the garbage truck reinstated,” said Coun. Betty Irwin, who posted a “like” to a photo of the Christmas garbage truck on the “Save Our Santa” Facebook page.
The page calls on residents of Whitehorse to lobby council to undo the proposed changes for the truck, stating verbatim:
“The City of Whitehorse is considering ‘changes’ to our historic, iconic, heroic Santa and his lighted garbage truck. The change no truck and only lights when stopped. This is a Whitehorse institution, I remember when I first saw it 20 years ago.
“He spreads good will and cheer with candy to schools, hospitals, group homes and every citizen, And he needs your help!
“contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and tell them we need to keep this tradition, this hero ours and that we want to Save our Santa Claus!”
The page was created on Tuesday. As of this morning, it was up to 24 “likes” with another 11 “likes” to the statement and Irwin’s “like” for the photo.
“This is a wonderful tradition,” she told the Star this morning when asked to explain why she publicly stated her support for it.
Irwin said she doesn’t want to see the 20-year tradition taken away from local children and residents who enjoy seeing the garbage truck.
Brian Crist, the city’s director of infrastructure and operations, explained in an interview Wednesday (reiterating a number of points made in an earlier city press release) that the garbage truck simply isn’t available for use this year.
Instead, city management has offered to make a pickup or one-tonne truck available to Santa so he can carry on with the tradition of spreading Christmas cheer through town.
Last year, the city didn’t have Santa on the road. Due to health issues, Santa was unavailable for the season.
In a press release at that time, Santa said he hoped to be back in action for the 2012 Christmas season in Whitehorse.
Crist was clear the changes were a decision of management and not council.
“It’s clearly an operation decision,” he said.
As the city noted earlier, the garbage truck that’s been used for may past Christmases was retired from the city’s fleet since it last made an appearance as the Christmas truck two years ago.
The city currently has three garbage trucks, two of which are used regularly for pick-up, and a back-up piece of equipment. They are all needed for service.
“Whitehorse has grown,” Crist said, pointing out the back-up is used much more often than previously.
This week, for example, the two other trucks are having work done, which has left the back-up to be used for all pick-ups.
If this situation occurred during the Christmas season after the truck has been decorated, the city would have to make a choice between whether to take down the decorations and have garbage or compost pick-up go ahead as scheduled, or forego pick-up for that week so Santa could do his work.
The city recognizes that residents enjoy the tradition, but changes have to be made, Crist said.
“We know a lot of people appreciate this.”
He said the city is trying to strike a balance between carrying on a much-loved tradition while continuing to meet the needs of residents and the safety of the public.
With that in mind, management decided to offer a pick-up or one-tonne truck – which can be more easily spared than a garbage truck – to Santa to be decorated and used through the holiday season.
It is for liability and safety reasons that the city is not allowing any lights to be on while the truck is getting to or from its destination.
The territorial Motor Vehicles Act prohibits flashing lights on vehicles (with the exception of emergency vehicles and things like snowplows and such) unless it has a waiver.
While the city has been getting the waiver for its festive vehicle since 2003, Crist said that after looking at the issue, the city can still be held liable – even with the waiver – if there’s an issue.
He also noted there are safety concerns. As an example, he said the truck could distract a driver who may be looking at the light display and not see a pedestrian crossing in front of his or her vehicle.
While staff are prepared to have a city truck for Santa, St. Nick has not yet let city officials know whether he will take them up on the offer, but they are hopeful, and expecting, he will.
If not, the city will have to decide how to proceed with the initiative. As Crist pointed out, the work Santa does for the city is in no employee’s job description.
Santa started the tradition more than 20 years ago, decorating the garbage truck with a couple of strands of lights and dressing in his traditional red and white suit, greeting Whitehorse residents with a jolly wave and a smile behind his long, white beard.
Much like the city, the tradition has grown over time, with Santa making his way around town, delivering candy canes to eager kids of all ages.
Crist estimates that including the staff time, equipment time and so on, the annual tradition is valued at $6,000.
HumBug
Nov 8, 2012 at 5:04 pm
We have lots of “acts” that say being hammered/high…beating/killing…stealing folks stuff is also a liability and unsafe for “the public”...
that said, the city seems not to care about that aspect of public safety…but they need to spend time on this?
oooooo flashing Christmas lights are suuuch a danger.
light the truck up already, the hell with turning off the lights…!