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Car enthusiasts are celebrating a big win as the ACT government on Saturday retreated from its ban on cruising in Braddon over the Summernats weekend to instead allow the streets to remain open until 9pm both nights. A government official confirmed in an email sent on Saturday to the car groups' advocate, Joshua Summers, that Lonsdale Street and Elouera Street would both remain open to all traffic until 9pm on Friday, January 5 and Saturday, January 6, the big weekend of Summernats 31. The streets would then close to traffic from 9pm to 1am. "We're ecstatic," Mr Summers said. "It really is a win for common sense." It was revealed on Wednesday, the government and ACT Policing planned to close the streets to traffic from 6pm to 1am both nights to stop the long-time tradition of cars cruising around the blocks of Braddon in front of large crowds in what is an informal extension of the street car festival. Under the now-lifted ban, only pedestrians and local traffic would have been allowed into the streets, leading to protests from businesses they would miss out on custom and car fans that a much-loved tradition was being killed off. Close to 3500 people signed a petition to keep the Braddon cruising going. Mr Summers said keeping the streets open until 9pm was a good compromise that would allow families, tourists and car enthusiasts to watch the passing parade and spend money in the restaurants, cafes and pubs along the strip. While the government copped flack for not consulting with businesses before it initially decided to close the streets, Mr Summers commended government officials and police for being willing to listen to the groups' concerns and being prepared to reach a compromise. "We have worked very closely with the government and I appreciate everyone's efforts so close to Christmas to ensuring the tradition of cruising Braddon over Summernats is maintained." he said. ACT Policing and the government were concerned about public safety, particularly later in the night. Mr Summers agreed more policing of the event was needed later in the evenings. He was also assembling volunteers to help with monitoring safety on both evenings. "I also want to ensure everyone has a good time, enjoys themselves and gets home safely," Mr Summers said. "While it would have been great for the ACT Government to remove the traffic restrictions completely or to a much later time and put on a few extra police to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable time, due to finite police resources, competing police priorities and the totally unacceptable behaviour of the minority in previous years, this was unable to occur." He also paid tribute to the hard work of fellow enthusiast Bennett Wood who commandeered much of the social media side of the campaign. The Braddon cruise is not an official Summernats event but has become a part of the Summernats tradition and folklore over the last 30 years as fans congregated to show off their cars in Braddon, once a strip of car yards and garages, and now the epicentre of hipster cool in Canberra. Many believe the Braddon cruise simply added another dimension to the street life of the suburb, honouring its history and traditions. The official Summernats City Cruise takes place on Thursday, January 4,with Summernats entrants only participating and leaving Exhibition Park in Canberra at midday to travel down Northbourne Avenue and back again.

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