Interview and Survey Results: Assessment of the State of the Practice and State of the Art Evacuation Transportation Management. Task Four

摘要

Much of what is known about evacuations is based on preparations for incidents, such as hurricanes, for which there is advance warning. With advance warning, evacuations can be planned and managed using procedures and systems that have been developed as a result of extensive and methodical pre-planning. This approach, however, does not adequately support management of incidents when there is no advance warning or when conditions are changing rapidly. Evacuations in response to these types of incidents tend to be monitored, but not well managed. Because the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognized the importance of and need for new tools and processes to help agencies plan for and manage evacuations where there is little or no advanced warning, they initiated a project to assess the state of the practice and state of the art in evacuation transportation management. The purpose of this report is to document emergency evacuation plans and practices employed by transportation management organizations in several large metropolitan areas in the United States. This document discusses specific practices with regard to management through the use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and related traffic management tools such as CCTV cameras, Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), Highway Advisory Radio (HAR), 511 systems, websites, interconnected traffic signal systems, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, and traffic signal priority for transit. Interview results for 14 public and private transportation agencies from five large metropolitan areas are documented in this report.