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

prevent bicycle theft. In addition, if the bicycleparking area is located close to the entranceof the venue, it may encourage eventpatrons to use their bicycles in order to accessthe event easier. Public transit operatorsmay also provide accommodations forbicycles during events, such as bicycle rackson the front of transit buses that allow spectatorsto access mass transit while carrying abicycle.Figure 7-6Bicycle Parking AreaLocal Travel Demand ManagementTDM strategies that reduce the amount ofbackground, non-attendee traffic consist of:• Increasing the use of transit (e.g. transitpromotion).• Encouraging use of carpools.• Shifting of work hours.• Shifting of commercial truck travelroutes and delivery/travel times.For non-attendee road users, a successfulTDM plan encourages alternate travelchoices, such as avoiding travel during timesof event ingress/egress or travel near theevent venue, that ultimately increase mobilityand travel time reliability for these userscompared to their default travel choice. Thisincludes personal and business travel in additionto commercial truck travel.Businesses can help minimize traffic demandduring peak commuting hours throughimplementing TDM strategies such as:• Telecommuting• Flexible hours• Modified delivery schedulesCarpooling should also be encouraged bymajor employers and through public informationcampaigns. In order to assist thebusiness community in the implementationof TDM, information detailing recommendedstrategies and how to implementthem should be distributed.The event planning team should inform thelocal community as to the magnitude of theplanned special event through a series ofpress releases and public service announcements.Alternate routes to and around theevent can also be published in daily newspapers,discussed on local television or radionews, and communicated by public and privatetraveler information services.In the special case of events that occur infrequently,businesses located in the immediatevicinity of a venue (e.g., hosting aMonday Night Football game) may allowemployees to leave early on event dates.This initiative causes an increase in parkingsupply for event patrons. A public informationcampaign can be used to notify businessesof the possible problems that couldoccur and how these problems can be alleviatedby clearing, for example, a downtownarea prior to a certain time.Successful local travel demand managementtechniques, instituted by local businesses,were utilized during the 2002 Winter Olympicsin Salt Lake City, Utah. (2) These strategieseffected a change in residents’ travelpatterns during the event. A post-event telephonesurvey indicated that about one-fifthof residents changed their travel patterns7-8