Worked Example: Traffic Management for a 5 km Community Fun Run

A fun run road closure works best as a timetable rather than one big shutdown: each closure point is set up before the lead runner arrives and reopened after the tail runner passes. Planning those windows, the people at each point, resident access and a clear radio protocol is what keeps a 5 km community run safe and on time.

This article walks through an example 5 km run from planning to reopening. It is a teaching scenario, not a real event. Your own event will be governed by its approved traffic management plan (TMP), traffic guidance schemes (TGS) and permit conditions, which must be prepared by suitably qualified people. This is general information, not legal or engineering advice. For the bigger picture on event planning, read our guide to event traffic management.

The example event and its constraints

Example scenario: a community group is running a Sunday morning 5 km fun run. The start and finish are in a park. The course is a single loop on local streets, with one section along a collector road that carries a bus route, and one crossing of a second collector road. The organiser expects runners, joggers, walkers with prams and some dogs on leads. The council has asked for a traffic management plan, and the organiser has booked a traffic control company.

The constraints that shape the plan:

• Residents inside the loop cannot leave by car while the course around them is live.
• The bus route has to be diverted or held, which means early contact with the bus operator.
• The collector road crossing carries enough traffic that a full closure with a signed detour is safer than holding traffic for gaps between runners.
• Participants are slow at the back. Walkers with prams set the reopening time, not the winner.
• Volunteer marshals are plentiful, but they are not traffic controllers.

In NSW, special events on roads need approval from the relevant road authorities and, depending on the event, police involvement. Our guide to special event traffic plans in NSW covers classes, approvals and lead times. Other states have their own processes, usually through council first.

Working out closure windows: an example calculation

The key planning tool is a closure timing table. It uses the fastest and slowest expected pace to estimate when the first and last participants pass each point. The paces below are hypothetical figures for illustration; use your own estimates based on the field you expect.

Assumptions for this example: start at 8:00 am, lead runner at about 3.5 minutes per kilometre, tail walkers at about 12 minutes per kilometre, and a starting crowd that takes about 5 minutes to cross the start line.

How the arithmetic works: at point C, 3.0 km at 3.5 min/km is about 10.5 minutes, so the lead arrives near 8:11. The tail walkers take 3.0 km × 12 min/km = 36 minutes, plus the 5-minute start delay, so they pass near 8:41. The planned window then adds a set-up margin before (so the point is fully closed and checked well before anyone arrives) and a clearance margin after (so the sweep has passed and the road is checked before reopening).

This table also tells the organiser which households are most affected (point D) and when the bus operator can expect the route back. The detour for the collector road can be checked with our free detour calculator.

Who does what: controllers, marshals and the event team

Getting roles clear is the most important safety step. In this example:

Stopping or directing vehicles on a road is traffic control work. In NSW, an employer must not direct a worker to do it without the right SafeWork NSW card, and other states have their own accreditation rules. Marshals should be briefed to keep away from vehicles and call the nearest controller instead. Check the details with SafeWork NSW or your state regulator.

Set-up order on the morning

Set-up follows the timing table, not the course order:

1. Crew pre-start and SWMS sign-on at the depot or park. Every controller signs on, collects their closure-point sheet and does a radio check on the traffic channel and the backup channel.
2. Advance warning and detour signs for the collector road go up first, because they need to be in place before the closure starts and they take longest.
3. Closures that start earliest (A, B and E in this example) go in next, with barriers and road closed signs at the positions on the TGS.
4. Bus route diversion signage is checked against what the bus operator agreed.
5. Remaining closures (C and D) go in on their window.
6. Supervisor's drive-around of every point before the start, confirming each is in place, photographed and staffed. The supervisor tells the event controller: "All closure points in and checked."

The start gun does not go until that message is given. That single rule prevents most event-day problems.

Radio protocol and what goes wrong

A simple protocol keeps traffic and event channels from tangling. The traffic supervisor speaks to controllers on the traffic channel; the event controller speaks to marshals on the event channel; the two leads talk to each other. Example calls:

• "All points, lead runner past A, eight-oh-one."
• "Point C, tail is through B, expect them in ten minutes."
• "Sweep past D, all participants clear of D." Supervisor: "D, check your road and reopen when clear."

For more on channels, coverage and failure plans, see traffic control radio communication.

What goes wrong in this example, and the fix:

• A resident at point D needs to leave urgently for a family emergency. The controller radios the supervisor, who checks with the event controller for a gap in participants. The controller holds participants briefly with a marshal's help, the car is escorted out at walking pace, and the time is recorded.
• A driver ignores the road closed sign at point B and drives around the barrier. The controller does not chase or block the vehicle, calls the supervisor and warns marshals ahead. The supervisor records the registration and time, and the barrier is moved to close the gap.
• The start is delayed by 15 minutes. Every window shifts. The supervisor broadcasts the new times and tells the bus operator. The closures do not come down early to compensate.
• An ambulance is needed at the finish. Emergency access was planned at the briefing: the route in from the collector road, which barrier opens and who walks it in. Planning this in advance is covered in emergency vehicle access through roadworks.

Reopening behind the tail

Each point reopens only when the sweep has confirmed all participants are past and the supervisor has authorised it. The controller then checks the road is clear of cups, cones and spectators, removes the barrier and road closed signs in the reverse order to set-up, and confirms by radio. The advance warning and detour signs for the collector road come down last, after point C has reopened, so nobody follows a detour to a road that is already open, or meets a closure without warning.

Common mistakes at fun run closures

• Closing everything at once. A single window from first set-up to last pack-down closes residents in for far longer than the course needs. The timing table fixes this.
• Planning around the winner. Reopening times depend on the slowest walkers and anyone who stops to help a child or a dog. Ask the organiser for an honest estimate and add a margin.
• Giving volunteers a traffic job. A marshal in a hi-vis vest standing at an open intersection will be treated by drivers as a traffic controller. Put ticketed controllers wherever vehicles can approach.
• Forgetting the bus operator and waste contractor. Both run to timetables and need written notice of the diversion and the expected reopening time.
• No agreed start-confirmation call. If the event controller can start without hearing that every point is in place, sooner or later a runner will meet an open road.
• Leaving detour signs out. Detour and advance signs left up after the event send drivers the long way for no reason and erode trust in the next closure.

The event-day record

Keep these with the TMP. If the event runs again next year, these records are the best evidence for a smoother approval. For road authority requirements, start with the council and Transport for NSW in NSW, or the state road agency elsewhere. Our guide to road closure and detour plans covers detour design in more depth.

Next steps

Build a closure timing table for your course first; it answers most of the questions councils, residents and bus operators will ask. If you supply traffic control for events, TrafWise can roster the crew with fatigue checks, collect SWMS sign-ons and keep signed digital dockets for each closure point.