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

Event ParticipantsEvent participants not only require securetransport, but maintaining their travel itineraryis of critical importance. In particular,regional/multi-venue events may requireevent participant transport while ingress/egressoperations take place at adjacentplanned special event venues. Here,stakeholders may elect to outfit vehiclesused to transport participants with an AutomaticVehicle Location (AVL) system. Thetraffic management team can continuallymonitor the exact location of vehicles transportingparticipants and other VIPs from aTMC or command post and implement specialtraffic control (e.g., change traffic signalsto a green indication) as needed.MediaMedia often arrives to a planned specialevent well before spectators and marks oneof the last groups to depart the event. However,media crews may conduct broadcastsoutside the event venue. Coverage of astreet use event involves special accommodationsas well. The event planning teamshould coordinate with media groups onwhere: (1) media trucks will park, (2) cameraspositioned, and (3) cables run.Street VendorsUnder normal day-to-day traffic operations,side friction generally refers to the frequencyof parking maneuvers and transitstops occurring in and out of travel lanes.Street vendor activities during planned specialevents, shown for example in Figure 6-5, impede traffic flow as event patrons slowor stop to conduct transactions (e.g., buyevent tickets or merchandise). Motoristsafety becomes a concern when street vendorstraverse the right-of-way of freewaysand arterial roads. Elements of a traffic incidentmanagement and safety plan shouldinclude tactics for eliminating illegal streetvendor activities.Figure 6-5Street Vendor ActivityContingency PlanningContingency planning represents event insurance.While stakeholders may consumeadditional time and resources during advanceplanning for a planned special event,the availability of contingency plans helpsmitigate a potential systemic breakdown ofthe transportation system during an unexpectedevent occurring at or near the sametime as the planned special event. Key stepsin contingency planning include:• Develop a traffic management plan thatis scenario-based. This concept appliesto various plan components as well as topertinent tactics. Each developed planshould include response actions for differentunplanned scenarios. Plans andtactics may consider identical and differentscenarios. A response action underone plan may warrant implementation ofa contingency response described in anotherplan. For example, heavy rainsthat force the closure of a parking areatriggers traveler information messagechanges to an alternate planned set.• Consider and plan for a range of possibleunplanned scenarios. Table 6-4 providesa contingency plan checklist for planned6-8