Routes
to success Stadium sporting events often require special traffic planning, but how do
you plan for an event that takes place right across your road network, often
closing major routes completely? Michael Donlevy uncovers some of the
techniques used to keep cars moving when a bicycle race speeds by
Photography Daxiao Productions
The numbers are mindboggling.
Up to 12 million
people are expected to line
the roads during the threeweek
Tour de France this summer –
roads that will be closed to the traffic
that will accumulate as visitors try to
get close to the action and local
residents attempt to go about their
daily business.
At least one million of those
spectators will descend on Brussels
for the first stage of the race, known
as the Grand Départ. Planning
the route and managing traffic,
both in advance and on the day,
are huge challenges.
Host cities for the Grand Départ –
these days regularly take place
outside of France – are often chosen
for their love of cycling, which is an
advantage for local authorities
because they are already used to
organizing bike races and events,
whether for the pros or for the general
public. That makes traffic modeling a
lot easier in the planning stages.
“We made traffic models based on
past experience,” says Mathias
Dobbels, deputy head of the cabinet
of the Brussels-Capital Region
responsible for Mobility and Public
Works. “We have important road
We made traffic models based on
past experience. We have important
road works this summer, which actually
helped because it meant we started route
planning from the available capacity
Mathias Dobbels, deputy head of cabinet,
Mobility and Public Works, Brussels-Capital Region
works this summer, which
actually helped because
it meant we started
route planning from the
available capacity.
“Brussels Mobility only
became involved in the Grand
Départ a year ago, because the
decision to participate in the
Tour was taken at another level
of government. That’s extreme
time pressure. But we enlisted
all the partners who needed
to be involved, made an
overview of everything
we needed to do in
planning terms and
worked with the
partners to achieve
an integrated and
coordinated
approach.”
Special Events |
Traffic Technology International July/August 2019
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