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

(2) provide a defined passenger waitingarea, (3) promote an orderly queue formation,and (4) shield waiting passengers fromadjacent vehicular and pedestrian traffic.Table 3-24 lists pertinent pedestrian accessplan informational elements of interest toevent patrons and participants. A trafficflow map or traffic control plan, prepared asa traveler information tool, may containcallouts to pedestrian facilities and day-ofeventcontrol tactics.Table 3-24Pedestrian Access Plan ChecklistELEMENT• Show recommended pedestrian accessroutes.• Show pedestrian bridges and tunnels.• Indicate special pedestrian crossing tactics(e.g., street closure or mid-block crossings)• Show shuttle bus route, direction of travel,stop locations, and loading and unloading areas.• Show vertical connections between infrastructurelevels (e.g., stairs, escalator, elevator,ramps).• Show designated pedestrian crossings atstreet use event venues.• Indicate special regulations.• Highlight pedestrian access routes and crossingssuitable for disabled event patrons.Traffic Flow PlanThe preparation of a traffic flow plan representsa required preliminary step to the designof a traffic control plan. The trafficdemand analysis component of a feasibilitystudy indicates the freeway/arterial corridorsand local streets that event patrons will utilizeto access the venue site area. In developinga traffic flow plan, the event planningteam modifies predicted flow routes tomaximize transportation system operatingefficiency on the day-of-event while meetingpublic safety agency needs. In turn, atraffic control plan facilitates traffic flow onrecommended flow routes through serviceenhancingstrategies and tactics that handleforecasted event traffic demand on theseroutes.The advantage of developing a traffic flowplan is two-fold:• Allows the event planning team to influenceand control event patron patterns ofingress and egress.• Provides important advance informationfor event patrons and participantsregarding best access routes to the event.The traffic flow plan must account for twotypes of traffic flow routes: corridor andlocal:• Corridor flow routes include the freewaysand major arterial roadways servingthe planned special event venue.• Local flow routes traverse the street systemadjacent to the event venue and servicea particular parking area or pickup/drop-offpoint.• A target point represents the point ofconnection between corridor and localflow routes, characterized by a freewayinterchange or major arterial intersection.• On the day-of-event, the management ofcorridor flow routes typically involvessurveillance and dissemination of travelerinformation regarding target pointand local flow route operations. Thetraffic management team implementstraffic control initiatives beginning at thetarget point and continuing along the localflow route.Figure 3-10 describes a process for assessingcorridor and/or local traffic flow routes.Traffic control strategies for increasing corridorroute capacity include eliminatingweaving areas or other ramp control tactics.Strategies for local routes include striping3-34