Have you ever tried to drive through campus on a Gator Gameday? You’ll find it impossible – not just because there are thousands of gator fans crowding the campus, but also because there are road blockades and police directing you elsewhere. To some who don’t enjoy the games, this can be pretty inconvenient or downright annoying. But it is a vital part of keeping both drivers and pedestrians safe, especially when games let out.
On September 3, 2015 the University of Florida Transportation Institute hosted a free workshop on this subject titled “Traffic Management for Football Games.” The program included two presentations, one by Gator Alumni Matthew Weisman and the other by Texas A&M’s Tim Lomax, Ph.D. The presentations were also offered as a live webcast, which has been recorded and can be watched here.
UF Game Day Traffic Management
Weisman was up first, and began by talking about the ins and outs of the City of Gainesville’s Traffic Management System. He was the city’s Traffic Operations Manager from 2006 to 2014, and then left Gainesville to start his own consulting firm, Hoffman, Weisman & Associates in Jupiter, Fla. Weisman received his bachelor’s degree in 2007, and his master’s in 2009, both from the University of Florida.
His presentation continued on to talk about how traffic is managed on game days and why. This included what roads are blocked off during the day, where the designated “Gator Walks” are, and the importance of escorts such as the Gator Aider.
When asked about why he thought it was good to provide the workshop in these formats, Weisman said, “…the webinar was an excellent opportunity for professionals all over the country to see the capabilities from all aspects of event management, from the local traffic engineers to law enforcement.”
Kyle Field Game Day Transportation Plan: 20,000 More Fans, No More Congestion
The next presenter was Dr. Tim Lomax, who is a Regents Fellow with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). His portion focused on the issues faced when a $485 million expansion of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field increased capacity from 83,000 seats to 106,300 over one off-season, and what solutions their Institute came up with.
“We had less than a year to address the challenges presented by an expansion from 83,000 seats to over 106,000; that’s an extreme example, but not unusual,” Lomax said. “Fortunately, we were able to draw on a lot of past experience and use the engineering training in some creative ways to help support the A&M fan experience.”
Their new transportation plan included engaging partners from on-campus and in the community. TTI coordinated new traffic, shuttle and pedestrian plans, and increased communication channels to manage traffic as well as make guests aware of dining, hotel and entertainment options during the weekend.
“We’ve had tremendous support from our community leaders, just as it sounds like Gainesville has done for Gator games,” Lomax said. The plan was essentially a tradeoff because they now have a couple hours after the game where traffic flow movements are restricted in order to more efficiently move people out of town, to a hotel, a restaurant or other venue.
Lomax says with that approach, people who want to stay on campus as well as those in the community who aren’t football fans, are able to have their town back faster. “And we don’t have to stay up all night helping fans get home,” he said. “Your classic win-win. Just the way A&M will finish up in Arlington and Phoenix!”
For more information contact regarding this and future UFTI workshops, please contact:
Ines Aviles-Spadoni, M.S.
Coordinator, Research Programs
352-294-7803
iaviles@ce.ufl.edu