Agenda of Extraordinary Local Traffic Committee Meeting

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Local Traffic Committee Meeting 6.2

Report No. 6.2 Blues Festival 2023 TMP

File No: I2023/234

Bluesfest plans to run the 2023 event over the Easter Long Weekend: Wednesday 5th April 2023 to Tuesday 11 April 2023 in accordance with DA10.2014.753.7.

Bluesfest have submitted a traffic management plans and traffic control plans in accordance with the conditions of consent for DA 10.2014.753.7.

Council’s Development Engineer has reviewed the submitted TMP and TGS and confirms they meet the conditions of consent requirements. For reference the two specific traffic related conditions have been inserted below.

2023 Traffic Management Plan Summary

The conditions of consent incudes a number of KPI’s set by TfNSW that must be met in regard to traffic management. The main issue with the 2022 Bluesfest event was queuing on the Pacific Motorway for a period of time on Good Friday. This years TMP includes a variety of measures to including monitoring of traffic conditions, internal queue lengths and traffic flow and abandonment of paid parking scanning if that is causing delays in vehicles getting into the site.

‘Event Only’ Park and Ride Offerings

The Bluesfest 2023 Traffic Management Plan does not propose any ‘Event Only’ park and ride facilities, thereby no assessment of off-site parking implications are considered. The event shall cater for conventional bus and taxi rank services as per last year.

The TMP and TGS was previously reported to the LTC however the matter was deferred to provide the committee time to review the relevant documents. TfNSW also requested further detail as follows:

TfNSW has reviewed the TGS submitted with the TMP appear to have been drawn in 2017 and approved in 2016. Section 7 of the Bluesfest 2022 Traffic Evaluation Report (TER) contains recommendations and conclusions that should be included in the current TMP and TGS, however these do not appear to have been updated to address/include any of the suggestions. TfNSW identified the following detailed items, however this is not to be considered a comprehensive review.

1. The TMP section ‘2.2 General Layout’ suggests Grays Lane gate will be open for residents and bus use during peak departure times. A TGS does not appear to be provided to address any safety issues these large slow moving vehicles may have on the Pacific Highway traffic.

2. The TMP section ‘3.4 Buses’ discusses the use of Grays Lane and suggests this use during peak departure times, however what these times are is not clearly identified.

3. The TMP section ‘12 Chain of Command’ indicates a hierarchy flow chart is located in Appendix C, however in the TMP provided Appendix C is a Risk Assessment Register.

The attached documents generally address these matters.

DA 10.2014.753.7 CONDITIONS

The following conditions are relevant:

57A. Detailed Traffic Monitoring for the 2020 Easter Bluesfest Event

A detailed traffic monitoring report to be undertaken of traffic associated with the 2020 Easter Bluesfest Event on the affected road network including the Pacific Motorway, Gulgan Road, Yarun, Tanners and Grays Lane for the duration of the event starting on Thursday Morning at 8am and ending on Tuesday 5pm. Any increase in traffic movements on the surrounding road network must be identified and mitigating/ management measures identified for implementation in future events and incorporation into the relevant traffic management plans. SIDRA modelling based on recent peak hour intersection traffic counts, two-way distributions, and calibrated to observed site conditions must be included in the report together with bus patronage and pick up / drop off data.

Additional queuing of traffic on the Pacific Highway associated with the event cannot be supported. The report to be provided to the Roads and Maritime Service and a copy furnished to Council.

61. Transport Management Plan

The submission of a Transport Management Plan (TMP) prepared in accordance with the “Guide to Traffic and Transport Management for Special Events”, to Council for approval at least 90 days prior to the commencement of the first event under Stage 1.

The Transport Management Plan to be broken into three parts to delineate management measures for small, medium and large events. The plan to be robust to enable it to be used for a variety of small, medium and large events annually.

a) The Transport Management Plan must include, but not be limited to:

i Details for the efficient management of parking, including provision for overflows from the southern parking area to the northern parking area. The management of overflow parking must ensure that the overflow vehicles exit the site from where they entered the site.

ii. A contingency plan for unplanned incidents that may disrupt traffic and transport before, during or after the event. The contingency plan must be fully documented and include emergency contact names and phone numbers.

iii. A copy of an approved Traffic Control Plan.

b) The Traffic Control Plan (TCP) must address the following matters:

i. The TCP must be designed in accordance with the requirements of the Roads and Maritime Services’ Manual, Traffic Control at Work Sites Version 2, and the current Australian Standards, Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 3, ‘Traffic Control Devices for Works on Roads’.

ii. The TCP must be prepared by a suitably qualified and RMS accredited Work Site Traffic Controller.

iii. The regulation of traffic must be authorised under the Roads Act 1993 and the use of traffic control devices authorised under the Road Transport (Safety & Traffic Management) Act 1999.

iv. Reduced speed zones must be approved by the Roads and Maritime Services.

v. There is to be no impact on through travel times on the pacific Highway

vi. The TCP must incorporate a monitoring program to assess the traffic volumes and peak parking numbers associated with each event. Twenty four hour traffic counts are to be undertaken before, during and after the first two medium and large events (and as further required by Council or the Roads and Maritime Service) for the traffic on the frontage and surrounding roadways.Such report must include details demonstrating compliance with the conditions of consent relating to traffic management including the requirements of the RMS provided below. From time to time aerial photography of the site and surrounds at regular intervals before during and after the event, including peak traffic and parking periods should be undertaken to support the traffic monitoring report.

vii. The TCP must provide for all relevant conditions of the Roads and Maritime Services.

viii. The TCP must be submitted to the Local Traffic Committee prior to approval under the Roads Act 1993 and adequate time must be allowed for this to occur and for the preparation of any necessary reports and amendments necessary to meet the Local Traffic Committee recommendations.

ix. The TCP must satisfactorily address any concerns or issues raised by the Council, Police and/or Roads and Maritime Services from previous events.

x. The TCP must ensure access to surrounding and neighbouring properties at all times including the wrecker and service station.

xi. The TCP must provide appropriate signage to prohibit parking in the surrounding road network and to prohibit access to the airport by festival patrons. Adequate provision must be made to allow residents of Grays Lane to park in Tanner Lane near the end of Grays Lane when through access is closed due to flood. Permanent “No Parking” signs in Grays Lane from the Pacific Highway to the Tyagarah Nature Reserve boundary will be considered as a permanent management arrangement.

xii. Entrance to Grays Lane East of Yarun Road to be restricted to residents and their guests for the duration of the festival to prevent the parking of vehicles in Grays Lane.

xiii. The TCP to factor in that local roads operate a Level of Service D or better between the hours of 8am and 8pm on event days. The ramps of the Gulgan Road Interchange with the Pacific Highway to operate at Level of Service C or better at event times (See Figure 3.1 Levels of Service Flow rates Austroads Guide to Traffic Management Part 3 and Highway Capacity Manual)

xiv. The TCP to include provision so that Traffic queuing on the Gulgan road off ramps does not exceed stopping sight distances for 110 km/h speeds. (See RMS supplements and Austroads Guide to road Design Part 3 Section 5.3.1 for stopping sight distances)

c) The Transport Management Plan and Traffic Control Plans to be reviewed on an annual basis and where required such plans to be updated accordingly taking into consideration changing traffic conditions, altered management arrangements and other issues as identified by the Roads and Maritime Service, Council or the Regulatory Working Group to ensure the safety and efficiency of the road network.

d) The Transport Management Plan and Traffic Guidance Scheme for the temporary use of the camping ground in conjunction with the Splendour in the Grass Festival is to be reviewed at the end of the event and a report prepared by a suitably qualified traffic engineer to identify the effectivity and performance of the Traffic Management Plan including measures to improve the safety and efficiency of the surrounding road network. The report shall be submitted to Council and reviewed by the Splendour in the Grass/ North Byron Parklands Regulatory Working Group

Note: Access/ Egress from, and to, the Pacific Highway to Grays Lane to be closed in the future by the TfNSW. The Transport Management Plan and Traffic Control Plan to reflect proposed changes to this intersection. Traffic management documents to be in accordance with current standards and terminology as stipulated by TfNSW

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That Council endorse the regulatory traffic management facilities and devices, including signs and traffic controller provisions proposed for the Council controlled public road network as outlined in attachments 1 and 2 (E2023/9632, E2023/9636) for the Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 to be held on Thursday 6 April 2023 to Monday 10 April 2023, subject to:

a) Separate approvals by NSW Police and TfNSW being obtained, noting that the event is on a state road or may impact the state road network;

b) The event be held through the implementation of the events Traffic Management Plan and Traffic Control Plan(s) as per attachments 1 and 2 (E2023/9632, E2023/9636)The Traffic Management Plan is to include contingency measures in case the level of queuing fails to meet KPI requirements. It is noted that such queuing may be caused by the introduction of paid parking.

c) The Traffic Management Plan and the Traffic Control Plan(s) to be implemented by those with relevant and current TfNSW accreditation;

d) Traffic camera data recorders or similar be used to obtain an accurate record of traffic impacts at KPI queue locations;

e) That the impact of the event be advertised via a notice in the local weekly paper a minimum of one week prior to the operational impacts taking effect, noting it must include the event name, specifics of any traffic impacts or road closures and times, alternative route arrangements, event organiser, a personal contact name and a telephone number for all event related enquiries or complaints;

2. That the event organiser:

a) advertise the impact of the event via a notice in the local weekly paper a minimum of one week prior to the operational impacts taking effect, noting it must include the event name, specifics of any traffic impacts or road closures and times, alternative route arrangements, event organiser, a personal contact name and a telephone number for all event related enquiries or complaints;

b) provide a copy of the advert for Council's web page;

c) give consideration of any submissions received;

d) inform community and businesses that are directly impacted (e.g. adjacent to the event) via written information which is delivered to the property in a timely manner so as to document, consider and respond to any concerns raised;

e) arrange for private property access and egress affected by the event;

f) liaise with bus and taxi operators and ensuring arrangements are made for provision of services during conduct of the event;

g) consult with emergency services and any identified issues be addressed;

h) holding $20m public liability insurance cover which is valid for the event;

i) paying Council’s Road Event Application Fee prior to the event.

Attachments:

1 51.2023.1002.1 23000-TMP-Rev D - Bluesfest 2023 TMP, E2023/18480 , page 10⇩