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

management strategies. For example, theagency may communicate and seek feedbackon temporary travel demand managementstrategies with commuter groups andtrucking companies. A MPO may loan staffto other public agencies in need of personnelto conduct planning and operations activities.The agency may also establish and/orcoordinate temporary task forces chargedwith a particular function, such as eventcommunications. A Regional Operating Organization(ROO) consists of traffic operationsagencies, transit agencies, law enforcement,elected officials, and other operationsagencies focused on the operation andperformance of a regional transportationsystem. A ROO works to ensure interagencycoordination of resources and informationacross jurisdictional boundaries. Itbuilds partnerships and trust among agenciesto improve their productivity and performance,thus creating a more responsive approachto mitigating temporary capacity deficiencies.ROO member agencies may, forexample, share traffic signal timing plans,coordinate planned strategies and resourcesfor managing travel, conduct public outreach,and participate in interagency training.Government AgenciesGovernment agencies, such as a governmentoffice on special events or emergency managementagencies, are non-transportationagencies that generally serve in an oversightcapacity. A government office on specialevents may work in tandem with the eventorganizer to initiate the event operationsplanning phase and coordinate event planningteam stakeholders. Other emergencymanagement and security agencies maymeet with the event planning team to obtainan advance debrief on transportation managementplan specifics.PublicThe public represents individual residents,businesses, and associated communitygroups. Residents and businesses potentiallyimpacted by intense traffic and parkingdemand generated by a planned specialevent may interact with event planning teamstakeholders during a public meeting. Thispermits concerned citizens the opportunityto review and comment on proposed trafficand parking restrictions needed to accommodateevent traffic.Phases of Managing Travel forPlanned Special EventsThe practice of managing travel for plannedspecial events incorporates advance planning,management, and evaluation activitiesencompassing five distinct, chronologicalphases. Figure 3-4 summarizes the fivephases and common products generated bycoordinated stakeholder groups under eachphase. Collectively, these phases facilitatethe successful management of transportationsystem operations during a planned specialevent.Integration of the identified phases, from thepost-event activities phase to the programplanning phase, creates a seamless processallowing for continuous improvement oftransportation system performance from oneevent to the next, especially in regard to recurringevents or events occurring at permanentvenues. This iterative process, wherestakeholders apply successes and lessonslearned from a particular special event tofuture events, supports activities pertainingto managing travel for all planned specialevents in a region. Recognition and integrationof special event management phasesachieves coordination across stakeholdergroups, namely the oversight team, event3-8