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

Table 6-10Vehicle Processing Tactics at Parking AreaTACTIC• Manual transaction• Permit display• Automated transactionManual TransactionManual transaction refers to cash transactionsmade between a driver and humanserver. This tactic involves the longest andmost variable service times, as servers haveto periodically make change and even answerquestions.Manual transaction operation at parking areasclosely resembles the operation of manual(cash) lanes at toll facilities. In bothcases, signs inform drivers of the fee in advanceof the service facility, and serversconduct cash-only transactions. Numerouspublications on toll facility evaluation reportthe capacity of a manual toll lane rangesfrom 300 to 400 vehicles per hour. Thisequates to a service time of between 9 to 12seconds per vehicle. Practitioners may assumea service time in the stated range,where 12 seconds per vehicle denotes a conservativeservice time, for individual servershandling cash transactions at a planned specialevent parking area.Permit DisplayThe use of permits for planned special eventparking has become increasingly common.Originally, permanent venue or recurringevent season ticket holders received or purchaseda parking permit as part of their seasonticket package. Internet commerce hasspurred venues and event organizers to sellreserved parking spaces in advance to eventpatrons. Typical offers involve obtaining aguaranteed parking space near the venue andmain gate.Advance parking sales provide a two-foldadvantage from a parking operations perspective.First, event patrons will have advanceinformation on exactly where to parkat the event venue, and repeat customers willbecome familiar with the fastest route to theparking area. Second, the tactic eliminatescash transactions at reserved parking areason the day-of-event, substantially reducingservice time. In fact, a service facility is unnecessaryif parking operators post propersignage and conduct a vehicle check for violatorsbetween event ingress and egress.The operation of a permit-only parking areamirrors that of a free parking area. In determiningthe capacity of individual accesslanes to a free or permit-only parking area,practitioners may assume a 4 second headwaybetween vehicles (or 900 vehicles perhour per lane capacity). This represents thecapacity assumption made by officials, duringthe planning process, for free parkingareas used by spectators of the 2002 WinterOlympics. (7) In order to account for roadwaygeometrics or special turning maneuvers,practitioners can determine the capacityof access lanes using computer trafficsimulation software.Automated TransactionAn automated transaction involves deploymentof an electronic fee collection system,suitable for permanent venues hosting numerousevents. Similar in operation to anelectronic toll collection system, the systemwould require event patrons to have a transponderin their vehicle. Implementation of asmall-scale system could involve distributingtransponders to season ticket holders.Park ComponentParking operators and volunteers must meetthe following two requirements for parkingvehicles:6-22