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Traffic management for major events

Traffic management for major events must focus on all modes of traffic. Mass events have their own dynamic, which depends on many factors. TNL helps organizers, local authorities and road managers to ensure that events run smoothly, with everyone’s safety and experience the main priority.

Traffic engineering and technological expertise

Major events such as sports games, stadium concerts or festivals have an impact on mobility in the wider area. Access roads may become congested, parking places fill up, public transport stops have to handle much larger volumes of passengers, sidewalks and cycle paths may become congested so that pedestrians and cyclists end up in between other forms of traffic. Coordinating all these journeys requires a thorough, planned approach, supported by the right technology.

A positive experience for all

TNL offers its clients the traffic engineering and technological expertise they need. Together with the stakeholders, we develop a solution that ensures smooth traffic flow, security and a positive experience for both visitors and surrounding residents. We do this by using an event strategy.

Prior to the event: devising an event strategy

If you choose us to organize traffic management for an event, we will devise an events strategy that takes all aspects into account, including:

expected visitor numbers and make-up;
time and duration of the event;
possible clash with other events in the area, road works etc.;
places that must be kept free for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, and places that can be accessible or not to motorized traffic;
access and exit routes that must be kept clear for emergency services;
if required, measures to prevent specific groups from crossing paths;
measures to divert traffic unrelated to the event;
available and required technology, such as roadside equipment (e.g. measuring loops, sensors, VMSs and TLCs) and available traffic management systems.

Once we have made an inventory and analysis of this and any other information, we draw up an event strategy in coordination with all stakeholders. Although this strategy will be different for every location and event, we always strive to create a structural solution that you can reuse in the future.

During the event: execution phase

The execution phase begins before the event. We monitor all aspects of the events strategy and the growing and declining volume of traffic before and after the event. We adapt traffic management measures accordingly on the basis of the scenarios created. We manage the various flows of traffic using parking guidance, routing, priority routes and other instruments. The result is smooth traffic flow around the event, an optimal experience for visitors and minimal disruption for local residents.

A structural solution of sporting events in Sweden

The Swedish town of Gävle is home to a sports center for soccer, ice hockey and equestrian sports. There is a two-lane access road with a single bus lane. The goal of the events strategy is to transport as many visitors as possible by bus, and thus also to persuade drivers to take the bus. As there is just a single bus lane, this often resulted in congestion on the access road. Technolution Move, together with Gävle, developed a system that can fully automatically adjust the travel direction of the bus lane to requirement. This means that buses can travel in both directions. Naturally, this happens entirely securely – buses must never travel in opposition directions on the same line. Pressure on the access road has now fallen strongly, and travel times for visitors are much shorter. This shorter travel time makes taking the bus an attractive mode of transport for visitors