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

in estimating modal split. The traffic operationsagency or traffic engineering consultantperforms the analysis, and either stakeholdermay research historical traffic andparking data or maintain a data archive relatedto operations for similar planned specialevents.Modal SplitUnder the scope of a feasibility study, modalsplit concerns identifying the existing modesof travel event patrons will use to access theevent venue site. Common travel modesinclude personal automobile, public transit,and walking. Public transit refers to scheduledbus transit or commuter rail. Transitagencies may assist in determining a basetransit split, without service incentives orpromotion, for patrons traveling to/from theevent.Illustrated in Figure 5-6, some patrons of the1986 and 1995 U.S. Golf Open in ruralSouthampton, NY found the Long IslandRail Road commuter rail service an efficientand convenient mode of travel to/from ShinnecockHills Country Club. To assure considerationof appropriate roadway mitigation,transportation operations planners analyzeda range of modal split percentages inthe feasibility study to account for variousscenarios. Commuter rail or other peoplemover systems exist in several metropolitanareas across the Nation and usually provideregular service to city stadium and arenavenues. Transit availability includes scheduledexpress and charter bus service operatingfrom other cities, suburban park and ridelots, and city neighborhoods.Table 5-12 lists surveyed modal splits fordiscrete/recurring events at a permanentvenue in San Francisco, New York, and SanDiego. The baseball stadium venues in SanFrancisco and New York, located within ametropolitan area, have excellent scheduledtransit service, including commuter rail.Stadiums located in suburban areas, such asQualcomm Stadium in San Diego, and ruralareas generally have a high percentage ofautomobile trips.Travel time, travel convenience, parking accessibilityand cost weighs significantly onan event patron’s decision to drive or utilizean alternate mode of travel. This likelyrepresents another contributor to the hightransit split in the San Francisco example,where Pacific Bell Park resides adjacent tothe downtown area. Other modes of travelinclude bicycle and taxi.Figure 5-6Commuter Rail Modal SplitWalking trips deserve consideration in modalsplit estimates for planned special eventsoccurring at downtown venues. Practitionersmust consider the proximity of5-20