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

tween the media and the agencies, the agenciesmay lose control of the flow of information.Traveler Information DisseminationTraveler information will have two importantaudiences during the event: (1) thosewho plan to attend and (2) those who wantto avoid the delays the event may cause. Inboth cases, traveler information tools can beused to effectively disseminate information.On the day-of-event, it must be clear whowill update traveler information devices andhow timely and accurate information willget to the officials responsible for providingthe updates. These individuals must be partof the communication chain. Assigning adedicated person to handle the updateswould be ideal. Conflicting priorities couldresult in out-of-date information being disseminatedif one person is asked to handletoo many tasks.Traffic MonitoringAgencies responsible for managing plannedspecial events require numerous types ofinformation on the current conditions of thesystem to support delivery of effective servicefor the planned special event. This requiredinformation varies widely dependingon: (1) the service being provided, (2) howoften it needs to be collected, and (3) howaccurate it needs to be.In a traffic management system, the trafficmonitoring component, or surveillancecomponent, is the process in which data iscollected in the field. This data is used tosupply information about conditions in thefield to other system components includingpersonnel located in the field on the day-ofevent.The information collected through the monitoringeffort is valuable for post-eventactivities. After the event, the informationgathered and/or observed can be used as partof the program or event evaluation. Thedata collected provides: (1) input into estimatingthe benefits of the traffic managementplan and operation and (2) input intoplanning for future planned special events.Performance Evaluation DataPerformance measures provide the basis foridentifying the location and severity of problems(such as congestion and delay), and forevaluating the effectiveness of the implementedplanned special event managementstrategies. In essence, performance measuresare used to measure how the transportationsystem, and therefore the traffic managementplan, performs with respect to theadopted goals and objectives, both for ongoingmanagement and operations of the specialevent and the evaluation of future options.In managing travel for planned specialevents, a direct relationship exists betweenthe performance measures selected and thedata needed in the performance measurementprocess. The data and informationused in decision-making must be of highquality because the remedies have to be performedimmediately. They must originatefrom reliable, consistent sources and meetthe needs of the decision makers. Moreover,the decision makers must have confidence inthe information, or it will not be used.POST-EVENTACTIVITIESPost-event activities range from informaldebriefings between agencies comprising thetraffic management team to the development3EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW3-55