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

formation to a dispatcher who, in turn,calls the dispatcher at the DOT. TheDOT dispatcher then radios the crew inthe field. Coordination might take severalmessages being sent back and forththrough this chain. This form of communicationdelays the sharing of informationand is subject to miscommunication.• As noted in the previous section, operatingon a common channel with clearlanguage greatly improves interagencycommunication. Depending upon thesize of the planned special event, morethan one channel may be used. For example,one channel could be deemed asthe primary channel, which is used by allparticipants for the sharing of critical information.Another channel may bededicated to transportation concerns.To minimize confusion and extraneous informationbeing shared among agencies, thequestion of who will use which frequenciesshould be decided during the planning process.Stakeholders should understand: (1)how they can reach other traffic managementteam members during the event, (2)which channels they will be found on, and(3) what information should be shared.Since many of the stakeholders comprisingthe traffic management team may not be accustomedto interagency coordination, theyshould understand the importance of sharinginformation with their interagency partners.Information not shared with others who areaffected could lead to difficulties managingtraffic and cause mistrust among participatingstakeholders.EquipmentThe participating agencies may normallyoperate on a wide variety of systems. VHF,UHF, and 800 MHz trunked systems areamong those in common use, and agenciescannot normally communicate from one systemto another. Before the right equipmentcan be identified, it is important for thestakeholders to understand what they wantthe communications system to do. Is it simplya means to share information, or doesreal-time coordination have to take place?Who has to operate on the channel? Wherewill they be located? Once these questionsare answered, it becomes possible to identifythe appropriate equipment to use for theevent.Table 9-6 lists several levels of communicationthat must also be studied. First, there iscommunication within the venue. In thisrelatively small area, a radio system thatprovides coverage just in the area of thevenue may be sufficient. Hand-held unitsmay be given to personnel who have to coordinateat the site. Communications maytake place between individuals or betweenfield staff and the command post.Table 9-6Levels of CommunicationCOMMUNICATION LEVEL• Within the venue• Between individual stakeholders• Between field staff and command post• Between command post and TMCsAnother level of communication would bebetween the command post and the TMCs.Here it may be more difficult to identify thebest equipment to use. The TMCs may begeographically distant from each other andthe command post. Because the centers areinside buildings, and often on lower floors,radios without an external antenna may notbe able to reach all the participating stakeholders.In order to depend upon thesecommunication channels, it is important thatthey be tested before the event. If no radio9EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW9-9