In the days leading up to an iPhone launch, there’s always a bit of a crush outside Apple’s George Street — people lining up for the new phone take up room on the pedestrian walkway. This year it’s worse than ever, and the city council is stepping in to fix it.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/10/the-iphone-x-line-in-sydney-has-become-a-parody-of-itself/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/IMG-0646-410×231.jpg” title=”The iPhone X Line In Sydney Has Become A Parody Of Itself” excerpt=”A few days before the Friday launch of the iPhone X, there’s a line outside the Apple Store in Sydney. And this one might be the worst one yet, but not for the reasons you might think.”]
The line of fold-up camping chairs outside the country’s flagship Apple Store has drawn the ire of some city workers and residents, with more than a couple of reports to the @cityofsydney Twitter account. And it seems those reports have borne fruit:
Thanks for that. Our rangers have now visited the location and are arranging for the furniture to be removed. Cheers
— City of Sydney (@cityofsydney) October 31, 2017
It looks like the City of Sydney coucil is “arranging for” the chairs currently cluttering up the skinny walkway outside the Apple Store to be removed; whether that means the punters waiting in line are going to be asked to dispose of them, or whether council will come through and just chuck them into the bin, remains to be seen.
There are two reasons why this is a Good Thing. The first is that, with the ongoing construction work of Sydney’s light rail corridor along George Street, there’s barely any room for people to walk down that section of pavement at the best of times. The second is that, in every photo we’ve seen, those chairs aren’t even being used. You can’t just leave a chair in a public thoroughfare for a week and expect to get an iPhone for your trouble.
Update: So at the moment, maybe half of the chairs are occupied. If you read into the council’s response on Twitter, it seems likely that rangers will ask the people in line to get rid of the “furniture” — because they’re pretty obviously blocking the way — but won’t try to disperse the line.
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We’ve contacted the City for comment and will update if we hear back.
Update:
City of Sydney has said that it will remove the chairs and milk crates:
The City of Sydney has an obligation to ensure our footpaths are accessible for everyone. Our rangers are working with Apple Store management to arrange for the immediate removal of chairs and milk crates that have been left outside their George Street store. These chairs are obstructing the busy footpath that is already affected by nearby light rail construction.
Any chairs or crates that are not claimed by the Apple store will be removed and placed in storage in the City’s Bay Street Depot where they can be collected. Anyone wishing to collect their chairs should contact the City’s customer service line on 02 9265 9333.
[Twitter]