Traffic Management

Traffic Management!

Story by: Heather Knowles

The adoption of Transit New Zealand's guideline for traffic management have serious implications for the future of road racing. As Christchurch is almost alone in having adopted these guidelines, the rest of New Zealand's local authorities are watching keenly before they decide whether to adopt them also.

Sheer Pleasure

You’re trotting along with a couple of mates, and one smarty britches spurts ahead for the sheer pleasure of a bit of a gallop. You all take up the challenge…When you’ve got your breath back, you all agree that it was a cool thing to do, and wouldn’t it be a fun racing course…And decide to formalize it.

You’ll measure out a ten mile course - just for old time’s sake - and organize a proper race. One of your mates is a tree farmer and will contribute a couple of saplings for prizes. Another works as a printer and can produce the posters and entry forms. Someone else has accounting experience and volunteers to keep the funding under control. Two month’s hence should be feasible…

Saplings' 10 mile trot

Naturally our mates want the Saplings’ 10 Mile Trot to be a "good" race - an intensely personal description. The course must be sufficiently fast/interesting/demanding. The competition element must be present both during the race and at the post-race socialising. And prizes are an added incentive, be they overseas trips or the personal prizes of time/placing/ensuing grading.

So our mates want to attract keen competition (fast and preferably famous runners) in order to attract a decent public audience in order to touch up some more local businesses for sponsorship monies/prizes in order to attract these good runners. Sound a bit chicken and egg-ish? As we all know, there are fewer and fewer Runners, so the recreational runners will have to be attracted as well.

Register for Recognition

Top runners will probably only participate for credit on their running CV ie official recognition of their performance. Oddly enough, this is only available through official channels - Athletics New Zealand and their local embassy, Athletics Canterbury. Everyone who is a registered runner belongs to this official club. Their times and results are official as long as they were achieved in an official race. So our mates go off to the Cross Country and Road Committee of Athletics Canterbury with their good idea, which by now is a precisely measured ten miles with a start and a finish and a detailed course.

For $20, this Committee will decide whether or not the race fits into the Athletics Canterbury perspective, and whether to sanction it. Officially sanctioned status also sets a maximum entry fee, and provides public liability insurance. And the Committee is like a reference library of experience for our mates. Help with course measurement, time keeping, general advice, and even mediation assistance are all available here. And now, with the introduction of Traffic Management Plans, their advice is not only invaluable but essential. (Merely one of the many good reasons to pay your registration fee.)

Traffic Management Plan

Back to the course itself, and the safety and protection of participants and public, ie the Traffic Management Plan. A suitably qualified person must prepare this. This individual will have successfully completed a Transit NZ course, and is a sort of race quantity surveyor dealing with variables - entrant numbers, traffic busy-ness, weather, length of time the road will be raced on - and definites - the course of a fixed distance and route, with x number of problem areas such as turns, loo stops, drink stations, exits etc. needing to be highlighted, and how many cones, traffic signs etc will be required to achieve this.

This person prepares a map, a plan for safely controlling traffic, participants and public alike, and an inventory of all equipment required to fulfill the plan. He/she becomes personally responsible for the carrying out of the plan. The placement of each cone and every sign can only be approved by that one person. The corollary is that all details in the plan having been inspected and satisfactorily implemented, all liability is removed from officials, the organising club, Transit NZ, the local authority, the Traffic Manager, Athletic New Zealand - everyone except the individual. In other words, it is a running caveat emptor - you were warned and didn’t take notice so it’s your problem.

It is illegal to throw stones at this sign

For example, runners are required to run on the footpath where there is one. If this is clearly impractical, they may run on the road, but there must be a temporary lane closure (to traffic). Cones the size of toddlers must be used at as little as 2.5 metre intervals (= 400 cones per km!) to mark course entrances and exits to the road, twists and turns, possible bottlenecks (baton change areas are an example) and other potential hazards. Sounds a bit much doesn’t it? But if you’re driving along and didn’t get enough warning of a race to avoid hitting a runner…Doesn’t bear thinking about.

A couple of high profile deaths during recent road races (one motor, the other cycle) hastened Transit NZ’s introduction of more stringent safety requirements for other than usual traffic movement on their roads. That can mean anything from a demonstration to the Santa Parade, a comparatively low profile running race to the vaunted Coast to Coast. Naturally enough, TNZ is trying to limit their liability in the case of injury or death to participant and public alike. And the Christchurch City Council adopted these new standards as of July 2001. More than reasonable too, one might more than reasonably say.

The change of course for the Canterbury Club Road Champs is an example of what could be in store for road racing in Christchurch. The traditional Avon Loop course is a favourite for many Canterburians, as it epitomises so much of what makes Christchurch a foremost training ground for runners. But it was moved (to the St Martins’ 5km course in Hagley Park) at the thirteenth hour, and the race almost hanged with red tape in the form of The Traffic Management Plan. (see Comments).

Traction engine test drive postponed

But to return to our Trotters’ race. The Plan is submitted to the Local Authority (and Transit NZ where highways are involved) controlling the roads in our race. The basic information is made publicly available through advertisements, so anyone who has a compelling reason (not just that that is their test-driving-the-traction-engine-day) for not allowing the event to proceed at such and such a time in such and such a place has the opportunity to object. These objections are heard and ruled on. The Plan, or a revised version, is accepted.

Our Sapling Trotters now have to find precise numbers of cones, marshalls and signs. Once upon a time, Athletics Canterbury would lend cones and signs, but these are outmoded (of unacceptable standard under the new traffic management regulations). So at present the only source of these essential pieces of equipment is a hire firm. Hiring these items for the 2001 Takahe-Akaroa is in the vicinity of $1300. (Fortunately a sponsor is providing them for this year’s race.) The marshalls are usually willing souls from local clubs who do not lend their members from altruistic motives. No, they need money.

Dollars and Sense

Costs thus far have been significant. The Plan itself may cost as little as $300, but more likely $500. The Council charges about $150 for lodging the Plan; the whole process is more likely to tally up at $600. Advertising can cost $400-1500. Hire charges for our mates’ race will top $500. There’s not much change from $2000 in barely implementing the Plan. Indeed, the Coast to Coast is rumoured to have spent $60,000 on their plan and its application.

But some other ingredients are obviously required. Bribery ie prizes, food and drink, enjoyment, an official certificate - something tangible.

Competitors must be recognisable. At last an easy one - they have their Athletics NZ numbers. But what about the unregistered masses? Now we have to allocate numbers to all entrants, and ensure some fail-safe method of keeping each number with the person it denotes. Are we back in the realm of tiny golden safety pins and printed numbers? Or will it be felt tip on skin? Who’s going to do that?

Our mates well know the demands of the body must be catered for - drink stations, toilet facilities, Zambucks. And timekeepers, marshalls, judges, registration personnel, drivers - a veritable army of people is needed on race day.

And as yet, only our mates know about the Saplings 10 Mile Trot! Entry forms and posters have to be printed. Sponsors sought.

To be or not to be

The Sapling Trotters would not be blamed were they to abandon their good idea as just another good idea at this point. Will they run the good race?

Don't miss the next enthralling episode....!

Cool Running 17.10.01. - Copyright (C) 2001 Heather Knowles
This article first appeared in the St Martin's Harrier and Athletic Club newsletter, October 2001, and on The Parsley Patch web site.