Traffic Control for Waste Management Phoenix Open

AWP Safety delivers safety solutions for professional golf tournament at TPC Scottsdale

More than 700,000 fans come to Scottsdale, Arizona each year to watch their favorite professional golfers compete in the sport’s most unconventional event – the Waste Management (WM) Phoenix Open. Known as the “Greenest Show on Grass” due to its status as a carbon neutral, zero waste event, it is also the world’s best-attended golf tournament and the most unique stop of the PGA tour. In 2024, and for the seventh year in a row, AWP Safety is providing comprehensive safety solutions to manage traffic flow and ensure safety for spectators and local residents.

Challenge

The WM Phoenix Open is hosted by the Thunderbirds, the special events and tourism committee of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. The event helps promote greater Phoenix as a safe and exciting tourism destination while raising millions of dollars annually for Arizona charities that support children, families and people with special needs.

The complexity of this five-day event requires detours and proper traffic management to support efficient ingress and egress of thousands of vehicles. Traffic control solutions are also needed to help avoid accidents that could harm people and negatively impact the reputation of the WM Phoenix Open and its partners. Minimal disruption to local residents and businesses is also a priority.

Solution

AWP Safety works closely with the Thunderbirds, the venue RPC Scottsdale and government agencies including:

• Arizona Department of Transportation – AWP Safety acquires necessary ADOT permits on behalf of the Thunderbirds and provides real-time traffic updates to ADOT to share with motorists on message boards.
• Arizona Department of Public Safety – AWP Safety works with ADPS to develop a plan for rerouting traffic in the event of an accident.
• City of Scottsdale Police and Fire Departments – In the event of an accident, AWP Safety collaborates closely with these agencies to alert first responders and clear traffic so emergency vehicles can reach the scene.

This year, AWP Safety devised a Temporary Traffic Control Plan (TTCP) that covers seven streets surrounding the event venue, a ride share curb lane along Thompson Peak Parkway, and primary access points for parking. The TTCP also includes a pedestrian detour to ensure walkers avoid high-volume spectator traffic while still having convenient access to bus stop locations.

A team of 10 highly-trained Protectors and 10 trucks are deployed the week before the event to begin necessary preparations. Additional traffic control experts and vehicles are present throughout the event to troubleshoot issues and coordinate safety activities with all local safety stakeholders.

Finally, AWP Safety sets up and tears down more than 4,000 pieces of equipment for this event, including arrow and message boards, signage, spring stands, reflective cones, pennant flagging, pedestrian fencing and speed radar trailers that help maintain speed limits in the event area.

“For events like this it’s important that we come prepared and ready to hit the ground running,” says Jesus Duarte, operations manager for AWP Safety’s Mountain Division. “With more than 700,000 fans coming to this event across five days, it is crucial that we are ready to handle any scenario to ensure everyone can go home safely.”

Results

• Greater Safety. No major accidents have occurred in the seven years AWP Safety has managed this event.
• Faster Parking Ingress and Egress. Advanced planning and strategic equipment placement ensure that visitors have easy access to parking upon arrival and can expect limited wait times upon leaving.
• Compliance. AWP Safety ensures event organizers are compliant with all state and local requirements for road safety.
• Time Savings. AWP Safety manages all traffic control and safety requirements so that event organizers and local law enforcement can spend their time focused on other tasks.

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