Downtown Mount Maunganui will be awash with orange on Thursday, as around 500 primary and intermediate school students march and wave banners in the annual Schools' Orange Day parade.

The event is a joint initiative between Travel Safe (Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council) and New Zealand Police, with generous support from Road Safe Traffic Management, and will make its first appearance in Mount Maunganui after being held in Tauranga city centre for 15 years.

Tauranga City Council transport network safety & sustainability manager Anna Somerville says Orange Day is a chance to celebrate and reward the contribution of student volunteers for their important road safety work throughout the year.

'Orange Day is a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of our Travel Safe and Travel Smart students, road patrols, traffic wardens and bus monitors who work hard to ensure their peers can get to and from school safely. It gives students a voice and helps raise awareness of road safety and active travel around schools.”

Sergeant Mike Owen, from Western Bay of Plenty New Zealand Police, says a highlight of the day is the banner competition and judges will have a hard time on their hands if previous years' entries are anything to go by.

'The effort and creativity that the students put into their banners is amazing. These kids have a real awareness of the roads around their schools, and the safety and active travel messages they are sharing are very relevant to them and their communities.”

The day begins at Coronation Park at 9.15am with speeches and the parade starts at 9.30am, following a route along Maunganui Road, around the roundabout at Pacific Avenue and back to the start. Temporary road closures will be in place.

Friends, family, locals, and visitors are encouraged to line the parade route, make some noise, and show their support for the students. After the parade the students will make their way to Baywave for a swim and a celebratory BBQ cooked by the police.

The following road closures will be in place to ensure a safe parade for all participants:

• 7am to 11am: Nikau Crescent between Rata Street and Maunganui Road - only open for School Bus parking and vehicles transporting children.
• 9am to 11am: Maunganui Road between Banks Avenue/Salisbury Avenue to Pacific Avenue.
• 9:00am to 11:00am: Prince Avenue between Victoria Street and Maunganui Road.
• Additional temporary closure: Maunganui Road – Nikau Crescent to Banks Avenue/Salisbury Avenue under stop/go traffic control to allow for parade to exit and enter Coronation Park.

Some parking may be removed to allow safe passage at key points in the parade. All roads will reopen as soon as practicable.

For event updates visit facebook.com/travelsafebop.