Rolling street closures caused traffic difficulties around Canberra’s popular Manuka shopping precinct, during the ACT Emergency Services' centenary parade on Friday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The torchlight parade began at 5.45pm and involved as many as 350 staff and 18 vehicles and travelled from Griffith Oval to the Canberra Fire Museum in Empire Circuit.
Traffic was heavy, and Canberra Avenue and streets inside the Manuka shopping precinct saw long lines of cars during the parade closures.
Some frustrated drivers resorted to performing U-turns over median strips, in order to escape the hold-up.
Onlookers took photos and claped as the parade passes.
The 1.5km parade moved down Captain Cook Crescent in Griffith, along Franklin and Furneaux streets, Manuka Circle and on to Canberra Avenue before finishing in Forrest.
The parade included rural and urban firefighters, police, ambulance officers, State Emergency Service staff and Territory and Municipal Services officers.
Antique fire vehicles and pipe bands from the ACT and Queanbeyan drew attention from visitors to the area.
ACT Fire and Rescue chief officer Paul Swain has defended the decision to hold the event in the popular Friday night destination, calling it a ''one-in-100-year event''.
ACT Police and Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell also marched in the parade.
ACT Fire and Rescue received $23,000 from the Centenary of Canberra fund for the parade, a historical display at the Canberra Fire Museum in Forrest on Saturday and a centenary ball.
By 6.20pm the traffic had resumed normal flow.
