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

permit when the event organizer meetsspecific agency prerequisites.Table 4-3Stakeholders Governing Permit ApplicationsAPPLICATION ADMINISTRATION• Local law enforcement• Local transportation department• Fire department• City/town manager’s office• City/town clerk• Community development department• Office of special events• Local district partnership• Public works department• Parks and recreation department• Bureau of licenses• Office of finance• Risk management officePERMIT APPROVAL• Police chief• Fire chief• Transportation department director• Director of public works• Multi-agency approval (e.g., public works,law enforcement, and city manager).• City manager• Community development director• Street and sidewalk use coordinator of thebureau of licenses• Local district partnership• City/town council• County board of commissioners• Local planning commissionFigure 4-3 presents a flowchart summarizingkey event organizer and public agency actionsthroughout the special event permitprocess, from submitting a permit applicationto conducting the proposed event.Agencies administering a permit applicationmay assign a staff person, representing thejurisdiction’s event coordinator, who willassist the event organizer throughout thepermit process. Table 4-4 indicates permitapplication submission deadlines for severalcities and counties. Application deadlinessignificantly influence the scope of activitiesperformed during the permit process. Toeffect a comprehensive permit applicationreview, including stakeholder meetings andpublic outreach, jurisdictions should mandatepermit application deadlines at least 60days prior to a large-scale planned specialevent. A shorter deadline is warranted whenjurisdictions, for example Wichita, KS (30day deadline), require event organizers toarrange all details with individual involvedagencies prior to submitting a permit applicationfor approval.The special event permit process serves toscope, schedule, and direct event operationsplanning activities for proposed events.This reduces unnecessary delay in facilitatingstakeholder coordination, developingplanning deliverables (e.g., traffic managementplan, etc.), reviewing mitigation strategies,and mobilizing personnel and equipmentresources required to stage a particularplanned special event. Practitioners mayexpand and contract the process in order tobest fit: (1) the area type and involvedstakeholders, (2) the special guidelines andregulations unique to a particular jurisdiction,(3) the operations characteristics of aparticular event, and (4) the purpose of aparticular event, such as community eventsversus commercial, for-profit events involvingevent organizers from the private sector.Chapter 2 of this handbook, under a sectionon “Impact Level,” summarizes exampledecision criteria and thresholds used to determinethe need to initiate a special eventpermit process in addition to event permitrequirements.As indicated in Figure 4-3, jurisdictionsshould conduct a preliminary review of theproposed special event date and time in additionto, if a street use event, the proposedparade or race route. Table 4-5 shows selectjurisdiction regulations prohibiting the issuanceof a permit for a special event occurringat a certain time and/or location. Aside4EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW4-13