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How to Change Street Banners Without a Cherry Picker: Flagtrax at Allianz Stadium
Oct
Street banners and pole flags are one of the simplest ways to promote an event, welcome visitors or show off a sponsor. The hard part usually isn’t the banner itself. It’s getting it up the pole, and back down again when the next event comes around.
For stadiums, councils and precincts that change their banners often, that’s the problem Flagtrax was designed to solve. Here’s how it works, and how it’s being used at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
What’s the problem with changing street banners?
Most pole banners are mounted well above head height, so changing them counts as working at heights. In practice, that usually means:
- booking a cherry picker
- a traffic management plan if the poles are near a road
- two or more trained workers at every site, every time a banner needs updating
Across several sites, one changeover can take days. It also carries real risk, since working at heights is one of the most heavily regulated risk categories under WHS law.
The result is that banners often stay up longer than they should, because changing them is a big job that has to be scheduled, staffed and paid for each time.
What is Flagtrax?
Flagtrax is a street banner system that lets one person change pole banners from the ground. A concealed track and a ground-level release mechanism are fitted to the pole, so the banner can be lowered, swapped and raised again without anyone leaving the footpath.
- A cherry picker is only needed once, to install the system.
- No special training is needed to change banners once it’s installed.
- It fits new or existing poles, lamp posts and walls.
How is Flagtrax used at Allianz Stadium?
Flagworld has supplied Flagtrax event flags at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, including for Paul McCartney’s concert.
A stadium hosts a different event almost every week, and each one needs its own look. With Flagtrax, banners for a Roosters home game can go up the day before the match, then be taken down or swapped for the next event straight after. Because the banners are interchangeable, a venue can keep sets for different teams, events and sponsors, and rotate them as the calendar changes.
Traditional banner changes vs Flagtrax
| Traditional pole banners | Flagtrax | |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment | Cherry picker | None, changed from the ground |
| Traffic management | Usually required | Not required for most routine changes |
| Training | Specialist height safety | None once installed |
| Working at heights | Yes | No |
| Workers per changeover | 2–6 | 1 |
Is Flagtrax only for stadiums?
No. The same problem comes up anywhere banners change regularly, from council main streets and tourism precincts to shopping strips, university campuses and event sites.
The City of Mount Gambier uses Flagtrax for the entrance banners that promote its events to visitors. Changing banners across its four sites used to take around two days, a cherry picker and two to six workers. With Flagtrax, it takes around four hours and one worker. The project won the LGAWCS WHS Best Practice Award (Major Regional) in 2020 for eliminating a high-risk working-at-heights task.
For councils, quicker changeovers also make it easier to run a community banner program, or to rent banner space to local businesses, event organisers and community groups.
FAQs
Do you need a cherry picker to change street banners?
Not with Flagtrax. A cherry picker is only needed once, to install the system. After that, banners are changed from the ground.
Who can change Flagtrax banners?
One person can do it, and no special training is needed once the system is installed. As the team at the City of Mount Gambier puts it: “Anyone in the council could do it, from the office staff, anyone.”
Do you need a traffic management plan?
Most councils don’t need one for routine banner changes with Flagtrax. It’s still worth checking your own local requirements.
Can Flagtrax be fitted to existing poles?
Yes. It fits new or existing poles, lamp posts and walls.
How long does a changeover take?
Each banner can be lowered and raised in minutes. A full changeover depends on how many sites and banners you have. At Mount Gambier, four sites went from around two days to around four hours.
Make banner changes a one-person job
Changing street banners shouldn’t need a cherry picker, a traffic plan and a crew every time. Flagtrax turns it into a quick job for one person, whether it’s a stadium switching from game day to concert night or a council refreshing its main street for the next festival.
Our Flagtrax banners are printed and checked at our Mulgrave factory, and when they come down, we’ll take them back for recycling in Australia.
Ready to make banner changes easier? Find out more about Flagtrax or request a quote, and Flagworld’s team can help you plan the right setup.
