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•
Coaches Only•
Competitors•
Staff Only•
Emergency Services•
Keep Gate Clear•
No Parking•
Fire Exit•
Cleaning Services•
Toilet Queue Here•
Event Manager Only•
Heavy Vehicles Only•
Caravans•
Car Park•
Car Park 1, Car Park 2, etc.•
Car Park Full•
Overfl ow Car Park•
Disabled Car Park•
Staff Car Park Gate 4, etc.•
Judges’ Car Park Gate 5, etc.•
Warning – Slow Moving Traffi c•
Caution – Vehicles Turning Ahead•
Caution – Overhead Cables•
No Overnight Parking•
All Vehicles To Be Removed By 8pm•
Slow – Event Ground Ahead•
Unauthorised Cars Will Be Clamped.On-site directional/location signs
Off-site signs are important to get stallholders, competitors and the public to the site in time and to make it easier for them to come in through the right gate. Informative and direction signs are just as important on site. They should be used where required and where possible on site, at a height of about 2.5 metres above ground level (to keep them above crowd level) so that they remain visible even when the crowds are in.
Signs will vary depending on the size and type, theme and content of the event, but the following signs are fairly common:
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Judges’ Parking•
Judges Only•
Event Ring137
•
Event Manager’s Offi ce•
First In Class, etc.•
Overall Winner•
Lost children•
Drinking Water•
Toilets•
Public Telephones•
Way Out•
Main Display Arena•
First Aid•
Car Park 1/Elephant Car Park, etc.Hold a brainstorming session with deputy managers to try to cover all possible aspects of your event. Apply common sense, though. List the signs you know you will need, and only consider making signs that the authorities approve. Do not make up signs that you may not need, or you will not be allowed to use.
Reminder signs
Though stallholders and judges etc. are usually given passes to allow them to enter the event ground and disabled drivers have disabled parking permits, for some unknown reason, they almost universally fail to display them.
When dealing with a constant fl ow of traffi c, the marshals and any police offi cers do not want to have to stop and talk to every driver. If a car has no visible stallholder, judges’ or other pass displayed, it should be assumed that the driver is a member of the public and they should be quickly and effi ciently directed to the public car park.
There is nothing more annoying or disruptive to traffi c managers than the sleepy driver who ignored the instruction to display their stallholder’s or member’s sign on the car windscreen, who then insists on searching the car boot to fi nd it!
When you send out joining instructions for your event, make a prominent note that signs and badges mustbe clearly displayed and that vehicles without them will
Tip
Don’t commit to ordering or making any signs until it is confi rmed that the event is going ahead, and the authorities agree and confi rm your on- site and off-site signing schedule.
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be treated as members of the public with no exceptions. Make it clear that anyone who fails to comply and causes disruption will be asked to leave.
When you send the passes, make this message the fi rst thing the recipient sees when they open the envelope, and repeat the message on every page you send them.
Also, with the permission of the local authorities, erect early warning and reminder signs at least a mile or so each side of the entrances, preferably some distance before a lay-by to give them a place to safely stop, fi nd and display their pass. It will help if the local authority allow you to note ‘Lay-by Ahead’ on the reminder sign.
If they fail to do so, they must be treated as a member of the public, or waved on to fi nd their way around the approach roads again and come back into the circuit with their pass properly displayed. If it makes them late – it’s their own fault. Why should hundreds of people be delayed because one driver cannot follow a simple instruction?
Early warning signs
Early warning signs positioned some distance before car park and pedestrian gates will be of great help in avoiding congestion and delays at the gates, but you will need permission to erect them. You should point out to the local authority that they will be of huge benefi t to the local community, passing traffi c, and people attending the event in getting event traffi c off the public highway. Be prepared to propose a safe location for such signs, and draft a design that they can see and hopefully approve.
These signs should warn the public what fees they have to pay and ask them to have the right change ready. Thus a sign saying ‘Car Parking £1 Per Car – Correct Change Please’ will give the drivers enough time to have the money ready and reduce delays and traffi c jams, therefore reducing the period during which there will be any potential risks on the highway.
Signs at car park exits
It is a good idea to post signs at car park exits giving onward journey information, such as:
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All Vehicles Turn Left Only,•
M4 – Left – Then Left At Roundabout,•
A456 – Right – Then Left At Lights,•
M3 – Left – Left At Roundabout Then Follow Signs,•
Bypass – Right – Then Left At Traffi c Lights.139 These signs can save a lot of time, to say nothing of the voices of car park staff when they are asked ‘Which way to the M4?’ for the six millionth time.
Sign-writing equipment
No matter how good you are, or how many events you have arranged before, you will never have all the signs that you require. That may not be a major disaster, but the inconvenience can be considerable.
Thank you signs
There is no harm in being polite, especially for charitable events, so consider plac- ing a friendly sign above or at the main exit along the lines of ‘The Hospice Staff And Patients Thank You For Your Valued Support – Have A Safe Journey Home’.
The cost is only a few pounds, and the effect can be a warm glow in the hearts of all attending and maybe a few voluntary donations!
Advertising next year
You may also wish to place a sign above the exits along the lines of ‘ACME Steam Event On This Site Saturday 25thAnd Sunday 26thAugust Next Year. Write It In Your Diary NOW!’
Tip
Keep simple sign-making equipment in the roving car park supervisor’s vehicle and the event manager’s offi ce. Nothing fancy is required, just a few pieces of hardboard or stiff card, a pot of black paint with narrow brushes, a few nails, pointed wooden stakes and a club hammer. Any emergency signing requirements, for example ‘Lane Flooded – Turn Right’, can be met quickly, cheaply and simply. Check with the local authority and police to ensure that they will approve such ‘emergency’ signs. They may refuse permission to use anything other than scheduled and agreed off-site signs, no matter what the emergency. As stated above some local authority staff stick by the letter of the law and are willing to risk the traffi c chaos that may follow if they ban the use of emergency signs.
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