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

ural areas, across the Nation maintain aspecial event permit program. In contrast, astate DOT permit targets the satisfactorymaintenance and protection of traffic onstate highways necessitating partial or fullclosure due to a proposed street use event.In most cases, state DOTs encourage eventorganizers to use county roads or localstreets whenever possible.Some important considerations and applicationsof planned special event permittinginclude:• Permitting proves particularly effectivefor less frequent continuous events,street use events, and rural events occurringat a temporary venue not having aknown spectator capacity. These eventsplace an emphasis on advance planningand public outreach to mitigate trafficoperations deficiencies and communityimpacts.• Jurisdictions may not require a permitfor special events held at permanentvenues, such as stadiums, arenas, andamphitheaters.• Permitting allows jurisdictions the opportunityto engage the event organizerat the beginning of the event operationsphase.• Public stakeholders can size-up the eventoperations characteristics of a proposedevent in order to schedule adequate personneland equipment resources to accommodatethe event. Resources mayinclude traffic control, security, andmaintenance.• From the event organizer’s perspective,a special event permit application andassociated regulations outlines a generalapproach toward successfully managingtravel for the event, facilitates coordinationwith appropriate stakeholders, andgauges resource requirements on theday-of-event.The balance of this section on permittingwill describe special event application components,review processes, guidelines, andregulations specific to managing travel for aplanned special event. The section will includenumerous references to special eventpermitting in city and county jurisdictions.Permit ProcessInitiation of the permit process for a specificplanned special event begins with the submissionof a completed special event permitapplication by the event organizer. Thepermit application represents a formal proposalby the organizer to stage a plannedspecial event. In some cases, particularlythose where the event organizer requests assistancefrom the jurisdiction in locating asuitable venue location or street use eventroute, the event organizer and pertinent publicstakeholders may interact prior to applicationsubmission to review the proposedevent and permit process.Table 4-3 lists public stakeholders that mayadminister special event permit applicationsand issue permits. In small and mediumsizedlocales, law enforcement, transportationdepartment, or city/town manager’s officecommonly processes a special event applicationfor review internally and by otheragencies in the jurisdiction. Some metropolitanjurisdictions have an office of specialevents that serves in a similar capacity. Alocal district partnership may assume a leadrole in the permit process for events proposedin commercial areas. Jurisdictionsissue an event permit based either on:• A single official, such as a police chief,fire chief, director of public works, orelected official, rendering a final decisionbased on reviewer(s) input.• A multi-agency application approvalwhere each agency signs off on the4-12