After 90 days of detours and major construction on North Druid Hills Road, four Brookhaven employees dressed as bright orange traffic cones greeted motorists crossing the brand-new North Fork Peachtree Creek bridge.
A video shows the Cone Crew holding signs that read, “Honk if you’re happy.” It got more than 32,000 views on social media.
The city of Brookhaven, in an effort to inform and entertain residents, is turning city communications on its head.
The Cone Crew is made up of Candy Cone, Patty Pavement, Rachel Roadblock, and Debbie Detour. They’ve have shown up at construction sites around the city to bring attention and fun to otherwise boring city projects.
“I was charged with finding a way to make paving fun and exciting,” said Public Engagement Specialist Estela Chavez, also known as Candy Cone, who came up with the idea while brainstorming. “It’s a different strategy for communications.”
The Cone Crew has a heavy social media presence, which draws a different audience on Facebook than Instagram. Video and photos demonstrate what’s happening in the community, like the city’s program to pave 76 streets by 2026 funded by Special Purpose Local Option Spending Tax (SPLOST).
Engaging with the community and letting residents know what’s happening in advance is a priority for Brookhaven Mayor John Park and Brookhaven City Council, said Communications Director Burke Brennan.
It turns out, press releases with the typical “five Ws” (who, what, when, where, and why) were not terribly interesting to the public, he added.
The Cone Crew hasn’t been popular with all residents. There have been no negative comments on Instagram, the city said, whereas Facebook users have questioned the costs of the Cone Crew, and whether or not actors were hired to be inside the costumes.
In addition to Chavez, the Cone Crew is made up of Brookhaven Social Media Manager Lizbeth Rangel as Patty Pavement, Administrative Assistant Veronica Grimaldo as Rachel Roadblock, and Receptionist Jya Coleman as Debbie Detour. The members of the Cone Crew were chosen for their outgoing personalities, Chavez said.
The city “got more love on Instagram,” Rangel said. “It just wasn’t as understood on Facebook. It’s a different audience.”
To date, the Cone Crew has spent approximately $450 from the communications department budget: the purchases include six costumes, microphones, and props. Coloring books were designed and printed in-house.
At the city council’s twice yearly retreat-style meeting in January, engagement was a hot topic. Since then, Brookhaven has pushed out newsletters for each of the four districts, quarterly meetings with each council member, and a redesigned weekly newsletter called the Brookhaven Blast.
“The Cone Crew is one of the things that has come out of the directive to be more engaging with the public,” Brennan said.
Residents can expect to see the Cone Crew in person and online announcing a street sign replacement project and paving on Harts Mill Road. Give a honk if you’re happy.
