Car Park Traffic Management Plan: Free Template and Guide

A car park traffic management plan is a written document that sets out how vehicles and pedestrians move safely around your car park: the routes, speed limits, crossing points, signage, lighting, staffing and emergency arrangements. It turns your workplace transport risk assessment into clear, practical rules. Below we explain the legal basis, what a good plan must contain, how to write one step by step, and a free traffic management plan template you can adapt.

What is a car park traffic management plan?

Every car park is a workplace for someone, whether that is a car park attendant, a cleaner, a delivery driver or a security officer, and it is also a place where members of the public walk between moving vehicles. A traffic management plan (TMP) records how you keep those two groups apart and how you control the movements that cannot be separated.

A good plan answers simple questions. Where do vehicles enter and leave? Where do people walk? Where do deliveries, coaches, taxis and emergency vehicles go? What happens at peak times, in the dark, in snow or during an evacuation? Who is responsible for checking that the controls are working?

For retail parks, offices, hospitals and event venues, the plan also supports wider car park management goals: reducing congestion, protecting your reputation and making the site easier to use.

Is a traffic management plan a legal requirement?

There is no single regulation that uses the words “car park traffic management plan”. However, the duties behind it are clear, and a written plan is the most practical way to show you have met them.

• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974: employers must protect employees and anyone else affected by their work, including visitors and the public using the car park.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: you must assess the risks of your work activities, including vehicle movements. If you employ five or more people, the significant findings must be recorded.
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: traffic routes must be suitable for the people and vehicles using them and organised so that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate safely. Lighting must be sufficient.
• Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996: safety signs are required where a risk cannot be adequately controlled by other means.

The Health and Safety Executive’s workplace transport guidance groups these duties into three themes: a safe site, safe vehicles and safe drivers. It specifically recommends mapping vehicle and pedestrian routes to find where they meet, and providing separate parking for visitors who may not know the site. Your TMP should be built around those themes.

Landowners and occupiers also owe a duty of care to lawful visitors under occupiers’ liability law. If you are unsure how these duties apply to a shared or leased site, take specialist health and safety or legal advice.

What a car park traffic management plan must contain

The level of detail should be proportionate to the site. A 40-space office car park needs a few pages; a hospital or event venue with thousands of movements a day needs much more. Most plans cover the following.

Site description and layout plan

Include a scaled or annotated drawing showing entrances, exits, one-way systems, parking bays, accessible bays, parent and child bays, EV charging, loading areas, pedestrian walkways, crossings, barriers and assembly points. HSE suggests displaying a site plan at the entrance for visiting drivers.

Risk assessment summary

List the hazards (reversing vehicles, blind bends, queues backing onto the highway, pedestrians crossing between parked cars, poor lighting, ice) and the controls you have chosen. Reference the full risk assessment.

Pedestrian and vehicle segregation

Describe footways, protective barriers, marked crossing points and how people get from their car to the building safely. HSE guidance asks whether barriers are provided at building entrances, corners and road edges where people could step straight into traffic.

Speed control, signage and markings

State the speed limit, where it is signed and how it is enforced, for example humps, cushions or narrowed lanes. Note the road markings and Highway Code-style signs in use.

Deliveries, service and emergency vehicles

Set delivery windows, routes and banksman arrangements for reversing, and keep emergency access routes clear at all times.

Staffing, roles and communication

Name the responsible manager, the duty manager on each shift, marshals or attendants, and how they communicate. If your car park is run by a contractor, set out who does what.

Peak, event and adverse-weather arrangements

Cover seasonal peaks, events, overflow parking, gritting and lighting failures.

Monitoring and review

Record how incidents and near misses are reported and when the plan will be reviewed.

How to write a car park traffic management plan: step by step

1. Walk the site at different times. Observe the morning rush, lunchtime, deliveries and the evening. Note where drivers and pedestrians actually go, not where you think they go.
2. Map every route. Draw vehicle routes in one colour and pedestrian routes in another. Every crossing point is a potential conflict to control.
3. Identify who is at risk. Staff, contractors, delivery drivers, visitors, children, older people, wheelchair users and patients or event-goers who may be distracted or unfamiliar with the layout.
4. Choose controls in order of effectiveness. Remove the conflict first (separate routes, one-way systems, drive-through loading), then reduce it (speed limits, crossings, mirrors, lighting), then manage it (signs, marshals, training).
5. Consult staff and contractors. The people who work in the car park every day know where the near misses happen.
6. Write the plan using the template below. Keep the language plain and add the site drawing.
7. Brief everyone. Share the relevant parts with staff, tenants, contractors and delivery companies, and display the site plan at entrances.
8. Review it. Review the plan after any incident, a layout change, new access control technology, a change of operator or a significant event, and at a fixed interval you set.

If you are introducing automatic number plate recognition or barriers, include the queueing implications in your plan. Our guide to ANPR versus barrier systems covers the practical trade-offs.

Car park traffic management plan template

Use this traffic management plan template as a starting structure. Adapt the headings to your site; not every section will apply.

Section	What to write
1. Document control	Site name and address, version number, author, approver, date issued, next review date.
2. Purpose and scope	Which areas the plan covers (car parks, service yards, access roads) and who must follow it.
3. Roles and responsibilities	Plan owner, duty managers, car park staff, security, cleaning and maintenance teams, contractors, tenants. Include contact numbers.
4. Site description	Number of spaces by type, opening hours, typical daily users, entrances and exits, surrounding roads.
5. Site layout plan	Annotated drawing showing vehicle routes, one-way systems, pedestrian routes, crossings, barriers, loading bays, accessible bays, assembly points.
6. Hazards and risk controls	Table of hazards, who is at risk, existing controls, further actions, owner and deadline. Link to the full risk assessment.
7. Pedestrian safety	Footways, guard rails, crossing points, lighting levels, routes from bays to entrances, accessible routes.
8. Vehicle rules	Speed limit, direction of travel, parking rules, reversing restrictions, height limits, motorcycle and cycle parking.
9. Signage and markings	Entrance signs, speed signs, directional signs, crossing markings, terms and conditions signs if parking is enforced.
10. Deliveries and contractors	Delivery hours, routes, banksman requirements, waste collection, contractor induction.
11. Emergency arrangements	Emergency vehicle access, keeping fire routes clear, evacuation and assembly points, incident response, first aid.
12. Peak and special events	Additional staffing, overflow parking, temporary signs, cones, marshal positions, queue management onto the highway.
13. Adverse weather and lighting	Gritting plan, flood areas, lighting checks and what happens if lights fail.
14. Training and briefing	Who receives which briefing, toolbox talks, marshal training, records kept.
15. Inspections and maintenance	Frequency of checks on surfaces, lines, signs, barriers, mirrors, lighting and speed humps.
16. Incident reporting and review	How near misses and accidents are reported, investigated and fed back; review triggers and dates.

Sector-specific points to include

Retail parks

Plan for weekend and seasonal peaks, trolley routes, click and collect bays and delivery vehicles sharing access roads with shoppers. Queues backing onto a public road are a common issue.

Offices and business parks

Focus on the morning and evening rush, visitor parking near reception, cycle routes and EV charging bays that may change traffic patterns.

Hospitals

Emergency access is the priority. Separate ambulance routes, drop-off zones, accessible parking close to entrances and clear wayfinding for anxious visitors all belong in the plan.

Events

Events need a temporary plan with marshal positions, arrival and departure phasing, pedestrian routes from overflow parking and close liaison with the local highway authority where public roads are affected.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing the plan once and never reviewing it after layout or tenant changes.
• Relying on signs alone instead of physical separation.
• Forgetting night-time, winter and low-light conditions.
• Not briefing contractors, delivery companies and temporary staff.
• Leaving enforcement and safety to different teams who never talk to each other.

Car park safety is also part of your wider statutory duties; our office building compliance calendar shows how to schedule the other recurring checks on your site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for a car park traffic management plan?

The employer or person in control of the site is responsible. Where a contractor runs the car park, responsibilities should be agreed in writing, but the occupier still needs to be satisfied that the plan is suitable.

How often should a traffic management plan be reviewed?

Review it whenever something significant changes, such as layout, access control, operator or use, and after any incident or near miss. Many organisations also set a fixed annual review.

Is a traffic management plan the same as a risk assessment?

Not quite. The risk assessment identifies hazards and controls; the TMP sets out how those controls work day to day, with layout drawings, rules, roles and procedures.

Do small car parks need a traffic management plan?

The risk assessment duty applies regardless of size. For a small car park, a short plan with a site drawing and a few rules is usually proportionate.

What is car park traffic control?

Car park traffic control means actively directing vehicles and pedestrians, using marshals, barriers, signs and signals, particularly at peaks and events. It should be described in your TMP.

Get help managing your car park

WWSG provides car park management and support staff for airport, retail, hospitality and corporate sites. If you need help putting your traffic management plan into practice, see our car park management services or contact our team to discuss your site.