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

special event, can be prepared and executedwithout detailed planning and without modificationsas the event unfolds. To be successful,the event planning team has to anticipate,and therefore plan for, all the possiblescenarios that will challenge the transportationnetwork and the mobility of theplan.A special event transportation and implementationplan includes elements such aspersonnel assignments, communicationsfrom various sources, communications betweenmultiple agencies, and guidelines foraccessing and utilizing remote equipment.All of these elements are used in variousmanners depending upon the existing conditions,and the plan should be flexible to allowmodification throughout the event. Inessence, a special event plan is a plan formultiple contingencies and multiple scenarios.Many tools and techniques are available toanalyze and assess the plans. Most are scenario-basedand use techniques to simulatethe event to ensure that the proper resourcesand communication protocols are in placeand are efficient. These techniques addressthe many contingencies, and as such, numerousplans are developed prior to theevent and implemented during the event, asthey are needed.It is important to note that the assessmentand development of plans do not end whenthe event ends. At the conclusion of theevent, stakeholders comprising the eventplanning team and traffic management teammust evaluate the plan in order to improvethe plan as well as to utilize the lessonslearned in future traffic management applications.Further, this evaluation process isnot restricted to post-event, but instead canand should be conducted throughout theevent, and modifications to the plan madeon-the-fly.Analysis TechniquesPlanners historically have used simple planningtechniques as well as high-tech computer-assistedtechniques to plan and managefor planned special events. These planningtechniques take many forms, rangingfrom traditional incident management processesand traffic engineering processes tocomputer modeling of scenarios.Three primary ingredients for successfulevent management are: (1) proper resources,both human and non-human, (2) a goodcommunications plan (implementation plan),and (3) a firm understanding of the transportationsystem’s capabilities and, moreimportantly, its limitations. The best andmost proven techniques for event operationsplanning are to model and test the scenariosusing any and all contingencies.Tabletop ExercisesTabletop exercises bring all of the stakeholderstogether. During these exercises,scenarios are posed and escalated. Thesescenarios typically do not require modelednetwork information, as their primary purposeis to test the stakeholders as to howthey would react and to fine tune the responsibilitiesof each stakeholder and the communicationsprotocol between the stakeholders.Many scenarios that can cause disruptionsto the event transportation areplayed out, and any loopholes in the operationsplanning are obvious to the participants.This type of exercise is supported bymore detailed analyses, usually in the formof computer simulation.Computer Traffic SimulationIn large-scale event planning, it is beneficialto understand the impact that the event willhave on the existing roadway system.Where this network is complex and multiple6-10