Event Characteristics

Categories

Five Categories of Planned Special Events

The five categories of planned special events and associated distinguishing characteristics, as well as their impact to the community, are listed in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1:  Categories of Planned Special Events

Category	Characteristics	Effect on Community
Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue	Predictable starting and ending times Known venue capacity Anticipated demand typically known Advance ticket sales Concentrated arrival and departure demands	Need to give special attention to weekday events due to their potential impacts on commuter traffic, transit operations, businesses and residents. Need to minimize impacts on access to businesses and residents due to concentrated arrival and departure demands. Need to identify ways to minimize community impacts and improve transportation system operations during future venue events. Need to consider parking restrictions or issuance of residence parking stickers so that event patrons do not impact residences by parking on residential streets in the vicinity of the venue.
Continuous Event	Occurrence often over multiple days Patrons arrive and depart during the event day Less reliance on advance ticket sales Capacity of venue not always known Occurrence sometimes at temporary venues Parking availability varies	Need to assure that the significant level of personnel required over the multiple days of operation can be provided to minimize impacts to the community. Need to apply changes made in the traffic management plan to minimize community impacts for future continuous events.
Street Use Event	Occurrence on roadway requiring closure Specific starting and predictable ending times Capacity of spectator viewing area not known Spectators typically not charged or ticketed Parking availability varies Impact on emergency access and local services	Need to consider effect on access and parking of residents and businesses of a street along which the event will be held. Need to consider communicating with and involving the participation of businesses and residents on the street that will be closed for the event. Need to assure that bus transit stop relocations during the event are communicated in advance to residents and businesses. Need to require adequate sidewalk passage area and fire lanes at all times to permit access of emergency vehicles to adjacent residents and businesses along the streets utilized by the street use event. Need to notify all businesses and residents located on the street to be used or closed of the event dates and times.
Regional/Multi-Venue Event	Occurrence of events at multiple venues at or near same time Ingress and egress operations for concurrent events may occur at same time Parking areas may service demand from different events over day	Need to coordinate activities of the events in order to minimize traffic impact on the community. Need to offset occurrence of ingress and egress times to minimize effect on traffic, parking, resources and the community. Need to examine event scheduling to avoid departing traffic from one event coinciding with arriving traffic from another event to minimize effect on traffic, parking, resources, and the community.
Rural Event	Rural area and possible tourist destination High attendance events attracting event patrons from a regional area Limited roadway capacity Area lacking regular transit service	Need to meet with residents and businesses to minimize effect on adjacent roadways. Need to use public surveys to assess all community effect and incorporate successful lessons learned to apply to the next event.

In recognizing the unique characteristics of each category of planned special event regarding trip generation and event impact on transportation system operations, many jurisdictions across the country have developed distinct planning processes, policies, and regulations specific to particular event categories. The balance of this section describes each of the five defined event categories.

Table 2-2:  Considerations in Managing Travel for a Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue

Event Impact Factor	Consideration
Travel Demand	High peak arrival rates High peak pedestrian and traffic departure rates
Road/Site Capacity	Exclusive off-street parking areas generally exist Permanent access generally exists between parking areas and freeway/arterial routes Transit stations may exist in vicinity of venue Self-contained traffic and pedestrian circulation
Event Operation	General admission seating or tailgating Known venue capacity and advance ticket sales Weekday event occurrences
External Factors and Other Considerations	Use of transferable historical data Improvement in identification and mitigation of roadway capacity deficiencies in each successive event

Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue

Table 2-2 presents travel demand, road/site capacity, event operation, and other considerations specific to managing travel for a discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue. High peak arrival rates occur because of event patrons' urgency to arrive by a specific start time and possession of a reserved seat. However, general admission or tailgating produce lower, yet pronounced, peak arrival rates. Known venue capacity and advance ticket sales yield more accurate demand forecasts, and the use of transferable historical data improves predictability in feasibility study analyses. Weekday event occurrences have potential impact on commuter traffic and transit operations, especially during already busy peak hour periods. High peak pedestrian and traffic departure rates happen because the event ends abruptly. As with events under other categories, the type of crowd attending the event can influence on-site staffing of police, medical, and emergency workers.

Table 2-3: Considerations in Managing Travel for a Continuous Event

Event Impact Factor	Consideration
Travel Demand	Daily attendance difficult to estimate Most events do not have an attendance capacity or defined "sell-out" High attendance events in downtown areas require extensive planning
Road/Site Capacity	Potential limited access to transit stations and adjacent high-capacity arterials and freeways Temporary venues may lack sufficient on-site facilities for access, parking, and transit bus accommodation
Event Operation	Major events generate trips from a multi-county region Traffic generation characteristics and market area of different events may vary considerably
External Factors and Other Considerations	Day-of-event weather conditions and attendance Potential weather impacts require consideration of a wide range of contingency plans

Continuous Event

Table 2-3 presents travel demand, road/site capacity, event operation, and other considerations specific to managing travel for a continuous event. Use of historic data may be limited by the variability of traffic generation characteristics and market area of different continuous events. Day-of-event weather conditions may significantly affect attendance. Potential weather impacts require consideration of a wide range of contingency plans for site access, parking, pedestrian access, traffic control, and traffic incident management.

Table 2-4: Considerations in Managing Travel for a Street Use Event

Event Impact Factor	Consideration
Travel Demand	Daily attendance difficult to estimate High attendance events in downtown areas require extensive planning
Road/Site Capacity	Parking areas and traffic flow routes serve an expanded site area Spectator viewing areas may have limited access to transit stations and high-capacity arterials and freeways
Event Operation	Parade or race route represents the event venue Race events or rallies often require temporary closure of roadways over a significant distance Major events generate trips from a multi-county region
External Factors and Other Considerations	Day-of-event weather conditions and attendance Impact to neighborhood access and parking Temporary road closures impact transportation system users

Street-Use Event

Table 2-4 presents travel demand, road/site capacity, event operation, and other considerations specific to managing travel for a street use event. As with continuous events, day-of-event weather conditions may significant affect attendance. Impacts on transportation system users may include background traffic, transit service, emergency vehicle access, and other local services.

Regional/Multi-Venue Event

This event category is unique in that it involves two or more distinct planned special events occurring at separate venues with traffic and/or parking demand generated by one event impacting traffic and/or parking operations in the vicinity of the other event venue(s). Individual events are categorized by any of the following categories: discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue, continuous event, or street use event. Multiple events may represent a subset of a larger planned special event. This category targets considerations in coordinating, or lack thereof, traffic and travel management for multiple events.

Table 2-5: Considerations in Managing Travel for a Rural Event

Event Impact Factor	Consideration
Travel Demand	Travel demand characteristics of discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue, continuous event, or street use event
Road/Site Capacity	Limited road and parking capacity Lack of in-place transit service and fewer alternate routes to accommodate event/background traffic Limited or no permanent infrastructure for monitoring and managing traffic
Event Operation	Generation of trips from a multi-county region Event operation characteristics of discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue, continuous event, or street use event
External Factors and Other Considerations	Need for stakeholders to assume new and/or expanded roles Need to work closely with all affected stakeholders

Rural Event

Table 2-5 presents travel demand, road/site capacity, event operation, and other considerations specific to managing travel for a rural event. Rural events are categorized by any of the following categories: discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue, continuous event, or street use event. An underlying challenge in managing travel for rural events involves personnel and equipment resource availability.

Decision Maker's Role in Planned Special Events Categories

Table 2-6 presents the major efforts that should be considered in the decision maker's role in meeting the challenges pertinent to planned special events categories.

Table 2-6: Decision Maker's Role in Planned Special Events Categories

Become familiar with each of the five categories and their characteristics. Assure that your agency examines possible scenarios that can accommodate arrivals peaking rather than being spread out throughout the day that could turn a continuous event into a discrete/recurring event. Foster regional coordination and regional interaction to advise of a planned special event and determine if other events are also occurring that results in multiple events as part of a regional/multi-venue event.

The decision maker's responsibility to the community relative to the planned special events categories is listed in Table 2-7.

Table 2-7: Decision Maker's Responsibility to Community

Need to meet with residents and businesses to minimize impacts on adjacent roadways. Need to notify all businesses and residents located near the event or on a traffic flow route of the event dates and times. Need to minimize impacts on access to businesses and residents. Need to consider parking restrictions or issuance of residence parking stickers so that event patrons do not impact residences by parking on residential streets in the vicinity of the venue. Need to apply changes made in the traffic management plan to minimize community impacts for future events. Need to identify ways to minimize community impacts and improve transportation system operations during future events. Need to use public surveys to assess all community impacts and incorporate successful lessons learned to apply to the next event.

Phases

Five Phases of Managing Travel for Planned Special Events

The five phases of managing travel for planned special events, in chronological order, include:

• Regional planning and coordination;
• Event operations planning;
• Implementation activities;
• Day-of-event activities; and
• Post-event activities.

Integration of lessons learned from post-event activities into future event planning and operations creates a seamless process allowing for continuous improvement of transportation system performance from one event to the next.

Regional Planning and Coordination Phase

Regional Planning and Coordination encompasses advance planning activities completed months prior to a single, target event or activities related to a series of future planned special events. This level of advance planning involves the participation and coordination of stakeholders serving an oversight role in addition to agencies directly responsible for event planning and day-of-event traffic management. Decision makers should 1) build off of existing relationships with other localities in their region, and 2) use the planning for an event as a "jumping off point" for enhanced regional planning and coordination.

Event Operations Planning Phase

Event operations planning encompasses advance planning and stakeholder coordination activities conducted for a specific planned special event. Event operations planning activities are undertaken to:

• Establish a planning framework and team;
• Predict transportation system operations deficiencies and develop strategies to mitigate; and
• Assess and plan for unexpected, high-impact scenarios.

These activities facilitate stakeholder coordination and collaboration across disciplines and jurisdictions and ensure compliance with community needs and requirements.

Implementation Phase

Implementation activities involve strategizing traffic management plan deployment in addition to conducting necessary testing and training activities. This represents a transition phase between event operations planning and day-of-event activities. Implementation activities are designed to:

• Improve the efficiency of traffic management plan deployment;
• Identify unknown and potential problems before the event; and
• Increase traffic management team preparedness.

Activities under this phase create a more responsive traffic management team and fluid team operation on the day-of-event. In turn, transportation system performance improves on the day-of-event.

Day-of-Event Activities Phase

Day-of-event activities involve the actual implementation and operation of the traffic management plan during the day-of-event. Day-of-event activities focus on:

• Implementation of the traffic management plan in conjunction with real-time traffic monitoring;
• Plan revisions as conditions warrant;
• Rapid, proactive response to any unplanned situation; and
• Data for performance evaluation and future planning activities.

Post-Event Activities Phase

Post-event activities cover the evaluation of local and regional transportation operations based on stakeholder debriefings and an analysis of traffic data collected during the day-of-event. These activities:

• Compare plan specifications and resources allocations to actual day-of-event operations;
• Evaluate transportation system performance;
• Review traffic management team activity;
• Identify key successes and lessons learned; and
• Facilitate an iterative planning, operations, and evaluation process.

Post-event activities represent the first step in planning for future, successive events and can contribute toward proactively improving travel management for all planned special events in a region.

Decision Maker's Role in Planned Special Events Phases

Table 2-8 presents the key actions that the decision maker should consider for the five phases of planned special events.

Table 2-8: Decision Maker's Role in Planned Special Events Phases

Assure that your staff treats the five phases as an iterative process where the lessons learned from one event is applied to the first phase of the next planned special event. Encourage your staff to refer to sections of the FHWA handbook "Managing Travel for Planned Special Events" and follow the step-by-step guidelines for each phase. Require your staff to utilize the FHWA "Practical Checklists" to assure every step is considered. Incorporate local and specific requirements of your agency to customize the “Practical Checklists” for the needs of your agency.

The decision maker's responsibility to the community relative to the five phases of planned special events are presented in Table 2-9.

Table 2-9: Decision Maker's Responsibility to Community

Assure that the five phases are part of an iterative process so that lessons learned and successful approaches from the Post-event phase are incorporated into the Regional Planning and Coordination phase so that impacts to the community are minimized for future events. Need to identify potential negative impacts on the community, in the Event Operations phase, and mitigate them in the Implementation phase to create positive impacts and/or minimal impacts to the community during the Day-of-Event phase.

Practitioner Perspective

Purpose of Managing Travel for Planned Special Events

The purpose of managing travel for planned special events involves:

• Managing intense travel demand;
• Mitigating potential capacity constraints;
• Influencing the utility (i.e., attractiveness – travel time, cost, comfort) associated with available travel choices; and
• Accommodating heavy pedestrian flow safely.

Key resource considerations influencing traffic and travel management for planned special events include (1) quantity and portability of equipment resources – affect scope and span of control, (2) quantity and experience of personnel for day-of-event operations – affect responsiveness, and (3) implementation of certain travel management strategies require specific resources. The most important resource that practitioners must plan for involve personnel resources.

The scope of transportation management activities for a major planned special event may warrant application of the Incident Command System (i.e., Unified Command) for the purpose of creating an integrated traffic management team that consists of multi-disciplinary and potentially multi-jurisdictional stakeholders. Unified Command helps traffic management team supervisors monitor resources under a very fluid situation and make consensus decisions without delay when real-time conditions demand adjustments to the traffic management plan. Two approaches for managing a large venue site area characteristic of major planned special events include dividing the site into distinct geographic areas and either (1) assigning a different agency(s) with the same functional authority(s) to each of the areas, and establishing a Unified Command structure consisting of a representative from each involved agency or (2) establishing a Unified Command structure for each defined area for the purpose of implementing tactical operations applicable to that area, provided a Unified Area Command exists for managing the overall planned special event objectives and strategies.

Managing Travel for Planned Special Events Today

The following characterize the state-of-the-practice in managing travel for planned special events:

• Manage traffic and parking for planned special events;
• Focus on traffic management team needs;
• Secure verbal coordination among stakeholders;
• Focus on single planned special events;
• Conduct periodic ad-hoc event planning;
• Focus on event-specific planning and operation only;
• Obtain periodic participation and contribution from community interest and event support stakeholders;
• Use fixed freeway and arterial management infrastructure to monitor and manage traffic during a planned special event; and
• Conduct location-specific traffic and parking management using field personnel.

Advancing the State-of-Practice

The following describe the state-of-the-art in managing travel for planned special events:

• Manage travel for planned special events by adopting an intermodal approach and utilizing travel demand management strategies;
• Form multidisciplinary stakeholder groups and solicit public input;
• Develop a joint operations policy or mutual-aid agreement between stakeholders;
• Create a committee on planned special events to monitor and plan travel management activities for all special events that occur within a region;
• Follow an established event operations planning process;
• Develop standard street use event routes and venue traffic flow routes;
• Integrate event evaluation results into future planning activities to facilitate continuous improvement of transportation system performance;
• Establish stakeholder groups specific to advance planning and day-of-event activities to strengthen stakeholder coordination and commitment;
• Utilize mobile devices such as portable traffic management systems, portable traffic signals, and portable traffic management centers; and
• Deploy automated systems such as parking management systems, dynamic trailblazer signs, lane control signs, and blank-out signs.

Decision Maker's Role in Fulfilling the Purposes

Table 2-10 presents the key actions that the decision maker should consider for fulfilling the purpose of managing travel for planned special events.

Table 2-10: Decision Maker's Role in Fulfilling Purposes

Foster the achievement of early, constant input and participation of involved agencies. Emphasize the importance of predicting event-generated travel impacts to your staff. Assure that your staff develops an integrated transportation management plan that can accommodate a range of traffic demand and other contingencies. Ensure successful traffic management plan implementation by your staff. Assure that your agency deploys a well-organized traffic management team equipped with the ability to communicate seamless between agencies. Emphasize to your staff the importance of conducting continuous traffic monitoring on the day-of-event and maintaining protocol for modifying the traffic management plan to accommodate real-time conditions. Transfer event management successes into daily applications, and translate lessons learned into future event planning and operations needs.

Table 2-11 presents the decision maker's responsibility to the community concerning fulfilling the purposes of managing travel for planned special events.

Table 2-11: Decision Maker's Responsibility to Community

Recognize that managing the potential, intense travel demand will achieve predictability for the public, businesses, and residents as well as all other transportation users. Realize that safety can be assured to the traveling public and event patrons through more active traffic management and reduced motorist frustration. Gain the input and support of local politicians who can advise of alternatives to minimize quality of life impacts on represented residents and businesses.

Operations Planning Schedule

Initiation of Advance Planning

Figure 2-1 illustrates a high-level event operations planning schedule for an event planning stakeholder group. The figure lists advance planning activities and potential stakeholder meetings and public hearings in a timeline relative to the planning deliverables. The schedule indicates other stakeholder planning initiatives, such as the development of a specialized transit plan to reduce event traffic demand.

The planning schedule provides a generic timeline, recognizing that actual event operations planning schedules vary considerably. For instance, some major, roving planned special events, such as the U.S. Golf Open, require an event operations planning phase spanning more than one year.

Figure 2-1: Event Operations Planning Schedule

Decision Makers' Role in the Planning Schedule

Table 2-12 lists considerations for establishing and managing a planning schedule.

Table 2-12: Decision Maker's Role in Managing the Planning Schedule

Assure that your staff develops a schedule of activities from time of event proposal to traffic management plan completion. See that your staff sets deadlines for key planning products. Emphasize the need to allow sufficient time for implementation activities and pre-event traveler information dissemination.

Table 2-13 identifies the decision maker's responsibility to the community relative to managing the planning schedule.

Table 2-13: Decision Maker's Responsibility to Community

Adhere to all deadlines established so that activities are completed on time while allowing sufficient time to gain the input of the community and to disseminate information to them so they can modify their travel schedules to make sure their daily trips are not adversely impacted.

Decision makers representing different agencies and jurisdictions must develop a working trust with each other. Clear understanding of which stakeholders have input, development participation, and review of activities and planning products builds interagency coordination and an understanding of each agency's responsibility.