If you have a building project, new construction, or event that may have an impact on traffic flow, it is essential to seek guidance from a traffic management planner. Regardless of the length of time that traffic may be affected, it is an important aspect of workplace safety to ensure any risk is managed appropriately. Event organisers need to be even more aware of the risks involved and plan accordingly. When vehicles or heavy machinery are moving around, reversing, loading, and unloading at a site, there are dangers to workers, participants, patrons, and volunteers. Speaking with an expert Sydney Traffic Engineer, like those at TTPA, can provide you with insights on how best to mitigate those risks. There are three stages to any event. The ‘bump in’ is the set-up phase, where unloading equipment and goods occur, and setting up amusement devices or temporary buildings. Restricting public access to the area during bump in wherever possible is one way to reduce the risk to general pedestrians. There are the parking areas to consider, how best to conduct business safely, and the walkways and passages between the locations. Finally, there is the ‘bump out’ or the pack up phase. This is one of the highest risk times, as you often have visitors still wandering around while the packing up is occurring. You may have vehicles moving in to collect goods and equipment. A person conducting a business endeavor must consult, cooperate, and coordinate activities, as well as ensuring the information, training, instructions, and supervision are provided to protect people from risks. Ensuring you have a traffic management plan in place will help detail how those risks will be managed and minimised.

Considerations For Your Event

As one of the top companies with experienced Traffic Engineers in Sydney, TTPA will make a plan for all aspects of traffic management. Traffic routes include both vehicle routes and pedestrian routes, and it is crucial to keep these separate from each other. If possible, vehicle routes should be one-way, with enough space for passing by stationary vehicles, wide enough for emergency vehicle access, and designed to ensure visibility at all intersections. Signs must be in place to indicate parking areas, restricted areas, speed limits, and any other route hazards. If your event requires drop off areas, they must be identifiable, with sufficient waiting space and facilities for disabled patrons. Loading areas should be designed to allow clear sight of other users. The risks can be reduced by minimizing the need for reversing where there may be potential for other vehicles and pedestrians to interact. Walkways and crossings must be marked to prevent pedestrian accidents. You could consider using barriers, railings, or bollards, or installing gates that open towards the pedestrian. These methods create a pause in movement, allowing time for the pedestrian to focus on vehicle movements safely. If full separation between vehicles and pedestrians is not possible, traffic routes should be wide enough for cars to pass pedestrians. If vehicle routes need to be crossed, you could consider overhead walkways, gated entrances, traffic light systems, or hiring a traffic controller. Making use of visible ground markers, lights, or signs, and ensuring both pedestrians and vehicles can easily see each other will reduce the risks. A Sydney Traffic Engineer like ours at TTPA will make a management plan for this.

Traffic Management Plans

It is vital to have a plan in place to document and explain how risks will be managed at your event. An event summary, contact details for the key personnel, a traffic control plan for any effects on the overall flow of traffic, and approvals from police and road authorities for the event and any road closures are required. Your Sydney Traffic Engineer will document the control measures by including drawings of the layouts of barriers, walkways, and signs to warn and guide traffic around, past, or within an event site. It will detail travel paths for vehicles, including entrances and exits. The responsibilities of any people expected to interact with vehicle movements, and official traffic controllers, including communication in case of an emergency, are also detailed. If this all seems overwhelming, why not book in a consultation with TTPA, your Sydney Traffic Engineer specialists to discuss the traffic management requirements for your event?