Safety and traffic management for PGA 2006 in Watford, UK

Abstract

This paper sets out the safety and traffic management arrangements for one of the most prestigious events in the sports calendar, the PGA World Golf Championship, held for the first time in the UK in 2006. Hertfordshire Highways was responsible for ensuring that safety was maintained and gridlock avoided during the six-day event. This paper describes the meticulous planning arrangements prior to the event, as well as the coordination between the many organisations responsible for ensuring that traffic could enter and exit the various car parks and that plans were in place in the event of an emergency on site. The paper ends with lessons learned and considers what actions taken might be different if an event of this scale were to be held in Hertfordshire in the future.