managing travel for planned special events - FHWA Operations ...

A common and efficient technique to observethe traffic conditions during a plannedspecial event is to place human observers, ordetectors, in the field, usually at critical locations.Normally, these observers have therole of monitoring conditions and reportingback to a central location for strategic assessment.These human detectors are gatheringrelevant information related to theevent and using established protocol tocommunicate the information back to thecentral processing and coordination facility.It is common to deploy these observerswhere technology is lacking and where theymay perform an additional role in trafficmanagement or traffic incident management(e.g., freeway service patrol operators).Aerial surveillance has long been used tomonitor the operation of the surface transportationnetwork. “Observers” in aircraft(fixed wing or helicopters) fly over freewaysand streets and monitor conditions in realtime,using two-way radios to communicatewith the TMC or with service patrols on thefreeway. This approach can be relativelyexpensive when one considers the expenseof leasing or operating an aircraft, althoughit does have the benefit of being able tocover a large area.The media needs to be a partner in theplanned special event management and operationseffort. Agreements must be in placethat define their role within the plan, as wellas what information needs to be communicated,both prior to and during the event.Traffic Incident Management and SafetyPlanThe occurrence of a planned special eventthat increases or disrupts the normal flow oftraffic places a premium on the optimal useof existing facilities. A traffic incident andsafety plan specifies crash prevention tacticsand traffic incident quick clearance initiatives,some of which denote special provisionsenacted just for the day-of-event.These traffic incident management techniquespreserve two goals of managingtravel for planned special events: (1) ensuringsafety and (2) maximizing efficiency.Crash prevention tactics focus on improvingdriver awareness of surroundings and driverbehavior. Table 3-30 lists crash preventiontactics applicable to planned special events.Table 3-30Crash Prevention TacticsTACTIC• Portable lighting• Congestion warning sign• Public information safety campaign• EnforcementPortable lighting devices enhance driver understandingof traffic control and traffic flowpatterns at night. Congestion warning signs,placed upstream of known roadway bottlenecklocations, alert drivers of demandinducedcongestion on the day-of-event. Apublic information safety campaign strivesto change motorists’ behavior when travelingto and from a planned special event byemphasizing event traffic control and regulations,pedestrian safety, and vehicle operation.Enforcement aims at preventing driversfrom executing illegal and dangerousmovements in an effort to bypass congestionand/or day-of-event traffic control.Service patrols can play a key role in trafficincident management for planned specialevents. The service has great versatility, andpatrol operators can satisfy a wide range oftraffic management team needs. For example,operators can assist in establishing dayof-eventtraffic control, performing trafficsurveillance, providing timely traffic condi-3EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW3-43