Managing Travel for Planned Special Events: What, Why,

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Managing Travel forPlanned Special Events
What, Why, Benefits
Walt Dunn, P.E.
Dunn Engineering Associates, P.C.
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Project Information
http//www.tmcpfs.ops.fhwa.dot.gov http//www.its
.dot.gov
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Definition

• A planned special event is a public activity
• with a scheduled time, location duration
• that may impact the normal operation of the
• surface transportation system due to
• increased travel demand /or reduced
• capacity attributed to event staging.

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Event Impact Factors
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Issues Characteristics

• Travel demand magnitude, rate modal split
• Background traffic, transit parking capacity
• Event market area staging requirements
• Available personnel equipment resources for
  planning day-of-event operations
• Weather, security other contingencies
• Other concurrent events

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Number of Events within a Region

• Los Angeles, CA
• 2,650 planned special events each year
• Milwaukee, WI
• 450 planned special events each year that
  influence travel along one downtown segment of
  I-94

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Planned Special Event Categories

• Discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue
• Continuous event
• Street use event
• Regional/multi-venue event
• Rural event

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Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue

• Characteristics
• Specific starting ending times
• Known venue capacity
• Advance ticket sales
• Weekday event occurrences

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Continuous Event

• Characteristics
• Occurrence often over multiple days
• Arrival departure of event patrons throughout
  the event day
• Typically little or no advance ticket sales
• Capacity of venue not always known
• Occurrence sometimes at temporary venues

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Street Use Event

• Characteristics
• Occurrence on a roadway requiring temporary
  closure
• Specific starting predicable ending times
• Capacity of spectator viewing area not known
• Spectators not charged or ticketed
• Dedicated parking facilities not available

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Regional/Multi-Venue Event

• Characteristics
• Occurrence of events at multiple venues at or
  near the same time
• Events having a time specific duration, a
  continuous duration, or both
• Overall capacity generally not known if
  continuous events or street use events are
  involved

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Rural Event

• Characteristics
• Rural or rural/tourist area
• High attendance events attracting event patrons
  from a regional area
• Limited roadway capacity serving an event venue
• Area lacking regular transit service
• Events having either a time specific duration or
  continuous duration

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Handbook Purpose

• Bridge the gap between the state-of-the-practice
  state-of-the-art
• Provide a framework for establishing an
  integrated stakeholder coordinated practice
• Recommend proven innovative strategies
  techniques
• Profile successful practices

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Phases of Managing Travel for PSEs

• Regional planning coordination for all planned
  special events
• Event-specific
• Event-specific operations planning
• Implementation activities
• Day-of-event activities
• Post-event activities

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Handbook User Groups

• Transportation engineer
• Law enforcement officer
• Event organizer

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Handbook Organization

• Consists of 15 chapters within the following
  sections
• Overview
• Advance planning
• Day-of-event activities
• Post-event activities
• Event profile

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Handbook Chapters

• Introduction background
• Characteristics categories of PSEs
• Overview
• Regional local coordination
• Event operations planning
• Traffic management plan
• Travel demand management traveler information

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Handbook Chapters (cont.)

• Implementation activities
• Day-of-event activities
• Post-event activities
• Discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue
• Continuous event
• Street use event
• Regional/multi-venue event
• Rural event

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Managing Travel for PSEs Involves

• Advance operations planning, stakeholder
  coordination partnerships
• Multi-agency traffic management team
• Develops traffic management plan
• Prepares procedures protocol
• Day-of-event traffic control coordination
• Raise awareness of potential travel impacts
• Coordinate agency services resource sharing

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Goals of Managing Travel for PSEs

• Achieving predictability
• Ensuring safety
• Maximizing efficiency
• Meeting public event
  patrons expectations

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Stakeholders
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Stakeholder Challenges

• Mitigate impacts of event-generated traffic
• Potential for heavy volume of transit vehicles
  pedestrian flows
• Coordinate travel management activities with
  event operator overall planning team
• Available staff resources support services
• Infrastructure lacking at event site to manage
  traffic provide support services

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Possible Travel Choices
Transit Express / Charter Bus
Automobile (route selection / parking)
Considerations for pedestrians other modes
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Benefits

• Reduce traffic congestion
• Improve mobility
• Improve travel safety

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Benefits (cont.)

• Form partnerships build trust
• Promote interagency coordination, resource
  utilization sharing
• Incorporate new procedures, plans, practices
  into day-to-day operation of agencies

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Benefit Measures

• Transportation System
• Travel time delay (traffic transit)
• Arrival departure service rate
• Number location of traffic incidents
• Community
• Economic
• Emergency vehicle access
• Public agency costs
• Travel demand

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Keys to Success

• Development of a good traffic management
  parking plan
• Input participation of involved agencies
• Implementation of plan
• On-site traffic management
• Ability to modify the plan accommodate
  real-time traffic

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Expect the Unexpected
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Resources Tools

• Handbook, Managing Travel for Planned Special
  Events
• Outreach material
• Fact sheet
• Tri-fold brochure
• Frequently asked questions
• Technical presentation
• Available at
• http//ops.fhwa.dot.gov/program_areas/sp-evnts-mg
  mt.htm