6Pedestrian / running events#

6.1Types#

Pedestrian and running events vary in size, distance and duration. Their routes may occur on roads, footpaths, verges and shared paths where conditions frequently change (for example, available widths and surface conditions). They also involve a variety of people, including the participants, course marshals, volunteers and spectators.

The start and end points of the event typically has the largest volume of pedestrians along the route. This is due to participants spreading out as the event progresses and finally converging at the finishing area.

This section excludes discussion on the start and end locations of pedestrian and running events which are more appropriately covered in the static events section of this guideline. Due to the generally large numbers and likely clustering of participants at these locations, it is important that the appropriate event traffic management is in place for the nature of the event.

There are a variety of types of pedestrian and running events that take place in Queensland. These may vary in size depending on the level of publicity and sponsorship associated with the event. These events can be broadly broken into the following types:

• running (for example, charity / fundraising runs, marathons, road running races)
• walking (for example, charity / fundraising walks, walking races)
• combination (for example, triathlons).

6.2Risks#

Specific risks associated with pedestrian / running events that may need to be considered include:

• driver expectations for encountering pedestrians (at locations where they are not typically present)
• visibility of participants (on or crossing roads) at dawn and dusk
• conflicts between participants and other pedestrians / path users
• the capacity of existing verges, islands and refuges to accommodate the expected concentrations of participants
• course routes on paths that cross driveways
• participant awareness of general traffic (particularly if attention is focused on the event).

Known and identified risks should be conveyed to participants in a timely manner prior to the event commencing. While the TMD would identify and mitigate the risks in preparing the TMP and TGS and pass this information onto the event organiser, the event organiser would be responsible for communicating these risks to the participants prior to the event.

6.3Specific considerations#

6.3.1Width#

As with cycling events, consideration should be given to the amount of space / width required to accommodate participants at pedestrian / running events. The space required may be greater in some parts of the event course, due to higher concentrations of participants (for example, at event start and finish).

The minimum operating spaces adopted for the design of pedestrian spaces and facilities may provide a starting point for the determination of space requirements (see Austroads’ Guide to Road Design Part 6A Section 3.2.1); however, pedestrians moving at speed may require additional space over the minimum.

6.3.2Participant compliance with road rules#

Large groups of pedestrian / runners participating in an event may be more likely to contravene road rules, either inadvertently because they are caught up in the moment of the event, or intentionally due to a belief of safety in numbers. Where the event takes place on roads that are not closed to general traffic, this may increase the risk of collisions with vehicles.

Consideration should be given to the use of event personnel (to encourage compliance with road rules at crossing locations) or traffic control personnel (at locations where significant concentrations of participants are likely to interact with general traffic and vehicle traffic is controlled in order to provide priority to event participants).