Whether it be a sporting event, concert or trade show, as the event organisers an Event Traffic Management Plan should be our primary focus in order to provide safe routes of travel in and out of our events for all attendees. This includes the visiting public, competitors, staff, officials, volunteers and the partner agencies supporting the event. Your Traffic Management Plan should illustrate the key factors associated with your plan and the measures you would put in place, including contingency plans.

Key Stakeholders and Agency’s

It’s important to establish who your stakeholders are and what agencies will need to assist you with the planning process. Once you have pinpointed these stakeholders (Organisers, H&S, Venue, Police, Security, Parking Provider etc) it’s imperative to arrange an ‘All Agency Meeting’ to run through the event details; crowd number expectations, local transport and highlight local areas. This allows all representatives to discuss potential risks, solutions and emergency service routes which in turn allows the event organisers to structure a more comprehensive traffic management plan. These stakeholders should be highlighted within the Traffic management plan

Prioritising Parking Locations

As most events would have a hierarchy breakdown of importance for their guests, it’s crucial to work through these when considering parking and traffic logistics. Disabled parking will be at the forefront of most plans and should be situated as close to the venue as possible. Other considerations for close proximity could be VIPs, Media, Performers or Competitors. In an ideal world, everyone who is attending the event would be within walking distance to the venue with public transport systems nearby, however, this is not always the case and occasionally we need to provide a shuttle system from parking areas and public stations. These locations should be highlighted within your plan.

Contingency Planning

Contingency carparks and access routes are a must-have when it comes to your plan. Event organisers sometimes don’t get the luxury of accurate weather forecasting or advance notice on protests etc, so it’s important we have plans in place that we can implement in the event that one of these hinder your original plans.

Signage

Directional signage is one of the most important components of any traffic plan/strategy. Signage must be clear, legible and positioned so it cannot be missed. Most events will have branded signage that will have a distinctive brand look (i.e. event logo or colours) that will capture the attention of spectators and guests arriving at the venue.  For larger events, it might also warrant assistance from an external provider who would put out additional signage that will be there Pre-event and post-event. An overview of these locations should also be within your traffic management plan.

Your traffic management plan should be communicated to the visiting public by means of information placed on the event website, public media release specific for those attending the event.

All of these key factors will help ensure the smooth running and implementation of your traffic management plan.