a collage of eight photos showing a stakeholder meeting, people boarding a bus, a changeable message sign displaying the message race traffic, cars traversing a roadway where barricades delineate travel lanes, a closed-circuit television camera, a crowd of people standing near a train and traversing a pedestrian overpass, two implementation plans, and three traffic management team personnel gathered around a laptop computer

Managing Travel for Planned Special Events

Table of Contents

Chapter Three. Overview
Page 3 of 8

Planned Special Event Categories  handbook section pertains to transportation engineer, law enforcement officer, and event planning user groups

The first step toward achieving an accurate prediction of event-generated travel demand and potential transportation system capacity constraints involves gaining an understanding of the event characteristics and how these characteristics affect transportation operations. In turn, practitioners can classify the planned special event in order to draw comparisons between the subject event and similar historical events to shape travel forecasts and gauge transportation impacts. Table 3-2 lists typical operational characteristics of a planned special event. Each characteristic represents a variable that greatly influences the scope of event operation and its potential impact on the transportation system.

Table 3-2. Event Operation Characteristics
Characteristic
  • Event time of occurence
  • Event time and duration
  • Event location
  • Area type
  • Event market area
  • Expected attendance
  • Audience accomodation
  • Event type

These event operation characteristics create five categories of planned special events, indicated in Table 3-3.

Table 3-3. Categories of Planned Special Events
Special Event Categories
  • Discrete/permanent event at a permanent venue
  • Continuous event
  • Street use event
  • Regional/multi-venue event
  • Rural event

Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue

A discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue occurs on a regular basis at a site zoned and designed specifically to accommodate planned special events. This category includes sporting and concert events at stadiums, arenas, and amphitheaters in urban and metropolitan areas. Table 3-4 lists key characteristics of a discrete/recurring event at a permanent venue.

Table 3-4. Distinguishing Operating Characteristics of a Discrete/Recurring Event at a Permanent Venue
Characteristic
  • Specific starting and predictable ending times
  • Known venue capacity
  • Advance ticket sales
  • Weekday event occurrences

Continuous Event

A continuous event includes fairs, festivals, conventions, and air/automobile shows in urban and metropolitan areas. Aside from conventions and state/county fairs, many continuous events take place at a temporary venue, a park, or other large open space. These venues host planned special events on a less frequent basis than permanent multi-use venues, and planned special event permitting typically governs whether a temporary venue can adequately handle the transportation impact of a particular continuous event. Table 3-5 lists key characteristics of a continuous event.

Table 3-5. Distinguishing Operating Characteristics of a Continuous Event
Characteristic
  • Occurrence often over multiple days
  • Arrival and 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

Street Use Event

A street use event occurs on a street requiring temporary closure. Events classified under this category include parades, street races, and motorcycle rallies occurring in rural, urban, and metropolitan areas. These events generally occur in a city or downtown central business district; however, race events or motorcycle rallies may necessitate temporary closure of arterial streets or limited-access highways. Planned special event permitting guidelines and restrictions typically (1) influence event operations characteristics (e.g., location, street use event route, time of occurrence, etc.) and (2) govern whether a traffic management plan can mitigate the transportation impact of a particular street use event. Table 3-6 lists key characteristics of a street use event.

Table 3-6. Distinguishing Operating Characteristics of a Street Use Event
Characteristic
  • Occurrence on a roadway requiring temporary closure
  • Specific starting and predictable ending times
  • Capacity of spectator viewing area not known
  • Spectators not charged or ticketed
  • Dedicated parking facilities not available

Regional/Multi-Venue Event

A regional/multi-venue event refers to multiple planned special events that occur within a region at or near the same time. Individual events may differ by classification category. Example regional/multi-venue events include: (1) occurrence of a single-theme event requiring multiple venues to stage the event, (2) occurrence of a downtown parade or festival in the vicinity of a downtown fixed venue also hosting a special event, or (3) occurrence of special events at two fixed venues in a region at or near the same time. Concurrent planned special events require consideration as a regional/multi-venue event if traffic generated by different, competing special events use the same traffic flow routes (e.g., freeway/arterial corridors, local streets) or parking areas over the same time frame. As a result, stakeholders involved in planning and managing individual special events must, as a group, forecast and mitigate the global impact of concurrent special events on transportation system operations. Table 3-7 lists key characteristics of a regional/multi-venue event.

Table 3-7. Distinguishing Operating Characteristics of a Regional/Multi-Venue Event
Characteristic
  • Occurrence of events at multiple venues and 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

Rural Event

A rural event encompasses any discrete/recurring event or continuous event that occurs in a rural area. Events classified under this category include fairs, festivals, and events at rural amphitheater and racetrack venues. These events indicate that rural events collectively have the event operation characteristics of discrete/recurring events at a permanent venue and continuous events with one notable exception; rural events take place in rural areas. Table 3-8 lists key characteristics of a rural event.

Table 3-8. Distinguishing Operating Characteristics of a Rural Event
Characteristic
  • 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