Traffic Management

Traffic Management (Part 3) !

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.

You may recall from part 1, our mates are trying to run a race - a good race, a proper race, and an enjoyable event. In part 2 they forged ahead with the preparation of their Traffic Management Plan. We rejoin our heroes just after they submitted their plan, with the requisite $130...

The fray

Our Trotters were now in the invidious position of awaiting CCC approval of their Traffic Management Plan. (see TMP) Despite an element of uncertainty, they have decided to start production of posters and registration forms, and call in the pledges previously extracted from hapless acquaintances. After all, the Plan wasn't lodged until the week prior to the Christmas-New Year break, and we all know what that can do to a timetable.

Recent Graduate has booked The Park (and paid the $124 fee out of his own pocket) and, after extensive discussions with several City Council officers and various Sextons, decided to go with the Old Cemetery option in the TMP. Although the roadway in the Old Cemetery is a public road, no one has ever asked permission to use it for such an event before.

I don't like this. If only these runners had not chosen Sunday for their race, I could have justified non-permission on the grounds that funeral processions and gravediggers must not be diverted from their lawful business. If only burials could take place on Sundays! thought Senior Sexton.

To Recent Graduate he had grumbled ominously, "Only people who ask permission can be denied."

Senior Sexton could not, however, find in the by-laws (or anywhere else for that matter) any guidance on dealing with Recent Graduate's request. So for want of a precedent, not to mention the bureaucrat's natural wariness of a readily attributable clear-cut decision, reluctantly granted permission subject to the following stipulations:

Participants and officials alike must only use the roadway, ie not the grass verges or any other part of the grounds. (This to guard against any perception of sacrilegious behaviour, and Complaints.)
The public must have walking access to and within the Old Cemetery at all times.
This use of the Old Cemetery Road is only permitted between 10.30am - 1.30pm Sunday 31st February 2002, and must not be considered a precedent for future such usage.

A note to this effect was appended to the TMP.

Going the Distance

To make up the distance lost by using the Old Cemetery roadway, a circuit of The Park has been added to the beginning of the race. (see MAP)

Partial road closure on Main Road Bridge was considered by Our Trotters to be a bit of an over-reaction by a zealous novice and, when in a more reflective and pragmatic mood, Recent Graduate was persuaded that one mile of race would be sufficient distance to unbunch fresh and eager competitors enough to ensure both their safe crossing of Main Road Bridge on the footpath, and minimal disruption of traffic flow.

Dazzle Jackets, Signs and Cones

To comply with their Traffic Management Plan, Our Trotters set about locating the necessary equipment. (see SIGNS & SAFETY EQUIPMENT) From Athletics Canterbury they can borrow twelve dazzle jackets (strictly speaking obsolete, as they did not have the requisite number of stripes in correct positions), and about half the number of signs required. (Their vast accumulation of cones has been rendered useless for the purposes of Traffic Management as they are only 45 cm tall, not 1 metre.)

So Road Construction, a local firm, has been contracted to hire out the remaining five dazzle jackets and sixteen signs, all fifty cones, and two portable toilets. The cost of this is staggering - $978.75 (including GST) - but fortunately The Hotel's promised $1500 would cover not only this expense but also the hire of one medium sized marquee. The Running Club and Athletics Canterbury are able to provide smaller tents for the "office" and medical facilities respectively.

"In future, it will be much more straightforward," said Recent Graduate. "A fund - the Canterbury Sporting Equipment Trust - is being set up to purchase cones and TW2s (signs), y’know all the equipment required by TMPs. This will be available for a nominal charge to groups like us." "In the meantime," said Trotter the Bean Counter, "we’ll all be bankrupted." Trotter the Tree Farmer sniffed. "Or road races will be a thing of the past."

Another hitherto unconsidered problem for Our-by-now-less-than-intrepid Trotters is the transportation of all this equipment. On race day, Recent Graduate will be solely responsible for the placement of signs and cones and marshalls etc. That is to say, someone else may position a cone or a sign, but Recent Graduate has to inspect and confirm the placement. Considering the quantity of equipment involved, the logistics of getting everything to the right place by the right time and inspected (and certified correct) by Recent Graduate are somewhat daunting. Uplifting from Road Contractors and Athletics Canterbury can be done the day before, but how? One very large trailer indeed will be required.

One small trailer will be adequate for the Athletics Canterbury load, and one large trailer should carry Road Construction's equipment. Transporting it around the course in two trailers could well be a humbug at 9.00 on a Sunday morning, though. Who knows someone with a truck they would lend? The Publican has a small flat deck (not large enough on its own), but it doesn't have a towbar. Trotter the Tree Farmer hesitantly mentions the elderly 12-ton Bedford (unwarranted) used on the farm. Recent Graduate doesn't have an HT licence. Trotter the Tree Farmer muses a while and, having decided that getting a WOF is out of the question (too much to do, too much expense) offers the use of the tractor (which does have a WOF and towbar, but no ball). Driving a tractor and trailer across Christchurch on a Saturday is not a feat to be contemplated lightly. If only Road Contractors can be persuaded to open early Sunday morning...

Recent Graduate suddenly brightened up. The Athletics Canterbury equipment contribution can be transported on one trailer, the jackets left at The Park to be issued to marshalls, the signs placed along the end of the course, and inspected (and certified) by Recent Graduate who will work from the beginning of the course. "And get about twenty old cones from Athletics Canterbury as we can use them on The Shortcut. That's the one place the Traffic Management Plan doesn't have any authority over!"

Getting Down to Busyness

Of course the ensuing weeks had passed so rapidly that the CCC's eventual approval of the Traffic Management Plan was dwarfed by Our Trotters' frenzied activities. Delivering entry forms and posters to sports shops, libraries, medical centres, and various clubs. Meeting Athletics Canterbury officials and organising judges, referees and time keepers. Making further impositions on the goodwill of their club-mates, families and friends (nineteen marshalls and twelve helpers don't just appear from thin air, you know). Double-checking details with emergency services, especially the River Road Fire Brigade, and Police. Arranging for food vendors at The Park. Massage therapists. Water containers. A Notable Personage to present the prizes. Another Notable Personage to MC the prizegiving. A Knowledgeable (and hopefully Notable) Person to commentate the finish. A public address system. A straight-forward record keeping system. On and on the list of Things-To-Do went.

And then there was keeping count of the pennies.

Race Day Eve

With only 43 pre-race-day entries, Our Trotters are feeling rather glum. Their counting out of safety pins and attaching them to Running Club's elderly (but still legible) two hundred and seventeen cloth numbers had seemed rather futile. Envelopes containing prize money and vouchers have been neatly inscribed with the appropriate place. Prizes have been checked against the master list, and put in order as best they can inside a carton. One hundred certificates of achievement pre-signed. ("You've got to look on the bright side," said Trotter the Printer, who was extremely proud of the design and craftsmanship. "Just about everyone who's entered will get a prize at this rate.")

Road Contractors had finally supplied the correct number of cones (after a terse phone-call to one of their gangs to "Hurry up and return to base with all the gear!") and agreed to deliver the portable toilets free of charge. The heavily laden large trailer had been successfully backed into The Hotel's lock-up.

Two marshalls are unavailable (a family bereavement) and not replaced despite desperate phone calls - mostly to answering machines, it being Saturday night. Recent Graduate has the 'flu, and cannot find a replacement at such short notice and, strictly speaking, is not permitted to.

Watches have been tested, counted and packed. The laptop has had the results spreadsheet programme installed (and successfully tested). A new packet of ballpoint pens has been put into the "Registration table" carton.

The weather bodes well, though: light cloud cover, 18 C with a NE breeze is forecast.

No one has mentioned the budget.

Loathe to leave the little gathering but compelled by tiredness, one by one Our Trotters head for their homes, and the inevitability of tomorrow.

The Saplings Ten Mile Trot

7:30 am. For once the weather forecast seems accurate. Our Trotters, aided and abetted by various family members, meet a coughing and snuffling Recent Graduate at The Park. Priorities are established - Recent Graduate, Trotter the Tree Farmer and children will pick up the large trailer from The Hotel lock-up, and set out the signs and cones as per TMP. Trotter the Printer will take the small trailer and work backwards around the course. Then, accompanied by three marshalls-in-waiting, place small cones at strategic points along The Shortcut. Fortunately - for 'fluey Recent Graduate - these do not need to be checked and "signed off". Experience and common sense are the requirements on The Shortcut layout. The three marshalls-in-waiting will get a preview of their allocated part of the course.

8:00 am. The marshalls are assembled in the marquee (erected by Trotters and helpers not laying out the course) waiting for Recent Graduate's briefing. They all clutch copies of the Course Layout Plan, and are trying on the dazzle jackets.

Trotter the Bean Counter has embarked upon a short speech of welcome and thanks to the marshalls, trying to retain their interest until Recent Graduate arrives. The master list of marshalling positions has been found in one of the cartons that fill a corner of the marquee, and stations are being allocated, transport arranged. At last Recent Graduate appears, looking a little more the worse for the responsibilities of the day. Fine details of marshalling techniques, some individual coaching, and estimated times of arrival (first and last runners) are dispensed. Cell phone ownership is a prerequisite for some marshalling points (notably on The Shortcut, outside the River Road Fire Station, and at The Park end of Old Cemetery Road) and numbers exchanged.

9:00 am. The "office" tent has been erected and tables set up, papers laid out, race numbers checked for order. A few runners have started arriving, fidgeting among themselves, pinning on their numbers, checking out the competition.

9:15 am. Kids unable to contain their impatience are running about under people's feet. Small queues are starting to form at the "office" tent. Time keepers are being briefed and issued with time pieces. Runners are stashing their gear bags in a corner of the marquee. Athletics Canterbury officials are bemusedly surveying the scene. A Notable Personage is talking too loudly to Trotter the Bean Counter and a journalist from the local newspaper. Recent Graduate feels faint.

9:30 am. Recent Graduate suspects the 'flu is causing hallucinations. The entire Park is shimmering with movement. Runners are jogging up and down the fence line. Trotter the Tree Farmer is wrestling with the Start-Finish banner. People are sprinting around the cones marking out the circuit of The Park. Some are stretching against trees. The Main Road gate is clogged with people. The tents are barely visible for the jostling crowd. From who-knows-where a clown is turning somersaults. Queues are shuffling outside the toilets. The marshalls must be checked off the master list as they leave to take up their positions. The PA whistles some feedback. Trotter the Printer is loading up the small trailer with barrels of water.

9:45 am. Trotter the Bean Counter has been designated Announcer and, now the whistling has subsided, calls for the runners’ attention. Another, and final, call to the start line will be made at 9:55. The Sapling Ten Mile Trot will be started at 10:00 am sharp. A frisson ripples across The Park. For a moment there is a stillness. As one, Our Trotters make for the "office" for a moment of hand-shaking and forehead furrowing, then disperse to perform their separate tasks. Trotter the Printer gathers the kids into the car, counts the packets of disposable cups (again) and drives off to Spur Crescent. Recent Graduate leaves for a final check of the Main Road Bridge signs and cones, still not entirely convinced that a partial road closure wasn't necessary.

3:45 pm. Recent Graduate is sprawled in a corner booth seat, still snuffling somewhat and mopping his brow. It is not clear whether the beer Our Trotters forced upon him is the cause. Trotter the Tree Farmer is volunteering to return all the equipment tomorrow. Trotter the Printer is comforting a child with a stubbed toe. Trotter the Bean Counter is looking less worried than usual. There is a pleasant background hubbub.

The Publican allows himself an almost imperceptible smile. His wife (1st place VW55 2:04:12) had brought in an unexpected $25.

Cool Running 17.12.01. - Copyright (C) 2001 Heather Knowles
This article first appeared on The Parsley Patch web site.