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

Use of a temporary pedestrian bridge representsan effective tactic for crossing widestreets or roadways where traffic throughputis emphasized. Advantages include safetyand minimal traffic management team staffingrequirements. Disadvantages includecost and the lack of access for disabled persons.Figure 6-23 shows a temporary, prefabricatedpedestrian bridge that was successfullydeployed during the 1995 U.S.Golf Open as a pedestrian crossing, over anarterial roadway and the Long Island RailRoad, between the event venue and twomode transfer points (transit station and VIPparking area).Figure 6-23Temporary Pedestrian BridgeTemporary street closures during eventegress allow the venue to empty faster andpermits pedestrians to disperse to a numberof adjacent mode transfer points and pedestrianaccess routes. Recognize that heavypedestrian flow on street crosswalks nearvenue gates significantly reduces trafficturning movement capacity. Therefore, totalstreet closure mainly impacts cross streetthrough traffic flow, traffic that can be divertedaway from the immediate venue area.The traffic management team reopens thestreet when traffic signal phasing can accommodateremaining pedestrian demand.As shown in Figure 6-24, law enforcementmay close a road segment(s) adjacent to themain gate of a continuous event to alleviatethe need to staff multiple at-grade crossingsas patrons arrive and depart throughout theevent day.Figure 6-24Road Closure Adjacent to Event VenueFigure 6-25 shows a staffed, mid-block pedestriancrossing. Mid-block crossings notonly reduce the likelihood of vehiclepedestriancollisions, but accident severityas well. As with all staffed crossings, trafficmanagement team supervisors should establishthe relative priority of competing pedestrianand traffic movements and communicatethat priority to officers controlling suchcrossings.AnalysisFigure 6-25Staffed Mid-block CrossingPractitioners should analyze the level of serviceof major pedestrian access routes andcrossings, first and foremost to ensure anticipatedpedestrian demand levels do notexceed available capacity at any time duringevent ingress and egress. Overcrowding onpedestrian facilities compromises the safetyof pedestrians and may interfere with adjacentstreet traffic flow.6EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW6-31