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

and/or downstream lane closures that warranta lane-change.Management of freeway interchange operationsfor planned special events involvesmaximizing ramp capacity and preventingfreeway mainline congestion. Table 3-28presents interchange operations tactics forplanned special events.The central traffic control strategy for localflow routes serving a planned special eventinvolves emphasizing throughput. Tacticsthat increase street capacity include a combinationof: (1) on-street parking restrictions,(2) vehicle travel on road shoulders,and (3) alternative lane operations. Streetsconnecting freeway/arterial corridor routesand venue parking areas characteristicallyserve a predominant directional traffic flowduring ingress and the reverse flow duringegress.Alternative lane operations comprise twocategories:• Reversible lane operation• Contraflow operationThe application of alternative lane operationsto streets during a planned specialevent creates an express route between anevent venue and high-capacity freeway/arterialcorridors. Three key elementsin developing an alternative lane operationsplan include lane balance, markings, andenforcement.The management of traffic traversing a localflow route on the day-of-event involvesroute guidance and monitoring of trafficcontrol initiatives.The event planning team should design specialroute marker signs for guiding motoriststo venue parking areas and pick-up/drop-offlocations. Each route marker may consist ofa color-coded letter or symbol. Whenerected along a local flow route, the routemarker assemblies collectively trailblaze aroute to the drivers’ destination of choice.Signs that introduce each route markershould be placed on all freeway and arterialcorridors serving the event venue.The deployment of a portable traffic managementsystem(s) (PTMS) provides a trafficmanagement team with the capability ofmonitoring traffic operations at criticalroadway system locations in addition to disseminatingupdated traveler information atthat location. Critical locations include targetpoints connecting a corridor flow routeand a local flow route or key driver decisionpoints on the street network surrounding anevent venue. Typical PTMS componentsinclude:• Surveillance camera• Changeable message sign• Highway advisory radio• Detection devices• Weather sensor• Flood lights• Power source (e.g., solar)Wireless communication via spread spectrumradio enables the traffic managementteam to view full-motion video from PTMSsurveillance cameras.A proactive approach toward developingstrategies for controlling intersection trafficduring a planned special event aims to:• Increase intersection traffic handling capacity.• Improve the orderly movement of traffic.• Prevent crash occurrences.3-38