Get In The Know: Traffic Safety Rules For Your Event

Hosting an event can seem like a daunting task; whether you are hosting a private event such as a wedding or a public event such as a family carnival, there will always be aspects that are worrisome and stressful. One of the biggest issues that event planners face, even today, is the issue of traffic.

For event planners, managing traffic can be extremely difficult as it can be hard to foresee how much traffic there will be; they don’t know how many cars people will bring and at what time they will choose to arrive. Some situations will be out of their hands, such as weather conditions or accidents that may cause traffic congestion.

Let’s go over the basic dos and don’ts in regards to traffic when you are planning an event:

Book an Open Location

When planning your event, make sure the location is not in a congested area. If your venue is closed off with no main roads nearby, guests will have to maneuver through smaller areas and lanes to get there – this is a recipe for disaster.

Make sure your venue has plenty of space surrounding it so that guests can reach it with ease. It would be ideal to book a venue outside the city to avoid traffic, but if that’s not possible, make sure the venue is near main roads and easy to access.

 Plan for Parking

Never underestimate the cars you will have to deal with at your event. For example, suppose you are hosting a wedding. In that case, it could be completely possible that members of the same family will arrive in separate cars (maybe because they are traveling from different areas or for any other reason). It would not be very smart to assume they would be coming in the same car – always plan for the worst-case scenario!

Make sure that your venue has ample parking nearby. You could book a nearby ground or parking garage to give your guests a place to park; however, this is an added expense.

If you do not want to spend extra money booking a space for parking, try to find a venue that has parking included – but make sure to plan the event based on that parking capacity. For example, you are planning a family carnival event; your venue allows for the parking of 200 cars, so it would be best to sell admission tickets to around 500 people only – assuming there would be an average of two people per car and a few others coming in taxis or ride services.

Plan for the Area

Each area and state in the U.S. have different laws and parameters for traffic – they also come with their own obstacles and challenges.

Before you plan an event in a different area, it would be good to familiarize yourself with the traffic laws and plan the event accordingly. You should identify the obstacles that guests may face driving in and work towards making those obstacles avoidable. Let’s say, for example, the area you are planning your event in closes down some roads on Mondays and Wednesdays for commercial deliveries. It would be best to avoid those days to hold your event.

Make sure to follow the unique traffic rules for each area and make your attendees aware of them too. Following traffic rules are for our safety and help to avoid traffic congestion.

Coordinate With Local Authorities

It would be beneficial to plan your event (especially if it is a big and public one) alongside the local traffic authorities, such as the traffic police and the zoning department.

Authorities can make you aware of the traffic laws you may be neglecting; their advice and cooperation can help your event’s traffic run smoothly. They could help you plan contingencies if you were to face anything unexpected and can help you manage traffic on the day of the event as well.

With the help of the traffic police, you can block off certain roads to reduce traffic build-up. For example, greater traffic congestion occurs at roundabouts/traffic circles and U-turns. You can work with the authorities to block off roads in order to create a straight route for guests and attendees. Routes that are straight and more direct create less congestion than those with many turns and maneuvers such as roundabouts. 

Use Traffic Safety Materials

Materials such as steel barricades, delineators, and traffic cones and be used to manipulate and manage traffic – you can use them to funnel the traffic to where it needs to be. You can easily buy these materials at a traffic safety store.

Hire Professionals to Manage the Traffic

For added help, you can hire a professional service or company that can help you manage the traffic, such as a valet service.

A valet service will help your guests have a stress-free experience; they will have door-to-door service without having to worry about finding parking or walking a long distance from the parking space to the venue. Valets will be informed and instructed on where parking is available; they will take the cars directly there rather than roaming about looking for a space and creating traffic congestion.

Professional staff can also help guests navigate the venue and location; this reduces the guests’ confusion and creates less traffic.

Bottom line

When planning an event, it is important to be mindful of the traffic that will be created. More than your guests and attendees, you should make sure those not attending the event are not inconvenienced – it can be a nuisance to get stuck in traffic for an event that you are not even attending.

When working with local authorities and blocking off roads, make sure that main routes are not cut off and that there is an alternate route planned for those who are not guests. You can easily receive bad press from an individual that did not even attend the event – they were just stuck in the traffic the event created!

The management of traffic makes the event safer for everyone attending, so it is imperative that you take steps towards ensuring traffic management when planning an event.