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

unlit freeway interchanges or arterial targetpoints that handle high-volume turningmovements during event ingress and egress.Portable lighting makes traffic control officersmore visible to approaching drivers,and in the vicinity of the event venue, thedevices can spotlight pedestrian/vehicularconflict areas.control and regulations, pedestrian safety,and vehicle operation. For example, theLouisiana DOT launched a $94,000 publicinformation campaign in 2002 to reduce thenumber of crashes caused by drivers followingtoo closely. (23) The campaign targetedspectators attending Louisiana State Universityfootball games through advertisementson radio stations carrying the games and advertisementsin game-day football programs.The advertisements specified driver tips onhow to avoid tailgating.6OVERVIEWFigure 6-58Portable Lighting (Photo courtesy of theWisconsin DOT.)Congestion Warning SignsCongestion warning signs, placed upstreamof known roadway bottleneck locations,alert drivers of demand-induced congestionon the day-of-event. The tactic aims to preventrear-end crashes as a result of driversencountering unexpected congestion.Stakeholders should strongly consider deployingcongestion warning signs alongevent ingress and egress routes containingsignificant geometric curves. In order tocontrol message display and preserve itscredibility, consider deploying portablechangeable message signs or static signs thathinge open, as shown in Figure 6-59.Public Information Safety CampaignA public information safety campaignstrives to change motorists’ behavior whentraveling to and from a planned specialevent. Campaigns emphasize event trafficEnforcementFigure 6-59Congestion Warning SignEnforcement aims at preventing driversfrom executing illegal and dangerousmovements in an effort to bypass congestionand/or day-of-event traffic control. For instance,drivers attempting to access a freewaymay travel past a congested entranceramp serving egress traffic, make an illegalU-turn, and traverse an uncongested freewayentrance ramp from the opposite direction.The behavior of one motorist provokes othermotorists to execute the same maneuver.Service PatrolsService patrols function to typically satisfythe incident detection, verification, response,and removal components of incident managementin the event of a minor incident,DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGPOST-EVENT ACTIVITIESEVENT PROFILE6-73