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

tion reports from various remote locations,and rapidly clearing traffic incidents.A quick clearance practice consists of laws,policies, procedures, and infrastructureaimed at effecting the safe and timely removalof a traffic incident. Service patrols,as previously described, represent a quickclearance infrastructure component. Rapidclearance of traffic incidents during plannedspecial event ingress and egress avoids significantimpact to corridor and local trafficflow routes in addition to routes used by participantsand VIPs.The following quick clearance initiativesbenefit traffic incident management in highvolumecorridors, characteristic of plannedspecial events: (1) vehicle/cargo removallaws and policies, (2) stakeholder openroads policy, and (3) public-private towingcontracts.Travel Demand Management andTraveler InformationTravel demand management represents akey component of the overall advance planningprocess when forecasted traffic demandlevels approach or exceed available road capacity.TDM strategies may be warrantedfor planned special events occurring duringpeak travel times, continuous events locatedin downtown areas, street use events of longduration, regional/multi-venue events, andspecial events in rural areas having limitedtransportation system capacity. The goal isto optimize event patron and non-attendeetravel through incentives aimed at consolidatingperson trips and altering user travelpatterns and habits, while minimizing anypenalties to the user.The goal of transit operators involve designinga special event service and related incentivesto not only improve the travel choiceutility associated with using transit, but alsoto exceed the utility (e.g., travel time, parkingfees, comfort, etc.) associated with travelingvia personal automobile. Successfultransit services collectively may result in asignificant change in event patron modalsplit without impacting service to nonattendeeusers.The availability of pre-trip travel information,consisting of essential event operationsand real-time traffic information, proves effectivein assisting event patron evaluationof potential travel options, trip departuretimes, and travel routes to the event venue.Similarly, other road users, seeking tominimize event-related impacts to their trip,value this information.TDM, transit, and pre-trip traveler informationinitiatives complement one another andwork to reduce traffic on the roadway networkin the vicinity of the event. These initiativesare not infrastructure improvementsto increase capacity, but rather are methodsthat decrease vehicular traffic by providingevent patrons with various travel choices aswell as providing information that may leadto a reduction in traffic volumes.Demand Management StrategiesSuccessful TDM strategies, developed toreduce the amount of event patron traffic,encourage carpooling and the use of alternatetravel modes. TDM strategies may alsoinfluence the travel patterns of non-attendeeroad users by encouraging a trip time shift ora change in travel mode. The resulting reductionin traffic demand reduces traveltimes for both event patrons and nonattendeeroad users.Table 3-31 contains a summary of traveldemand management strategies.3-44