National Special Security Events: Transportation Planning for Planned Special Events

Unique among planned special event activities are those events that carry the National Special Security Event (NSSE) designation. NSSEs occur with some frequency, with 35 of these events held between September 1998 and February 2010. These events include, but are not limited to, presidential inaugurations, presidential nominating conventions, major sports events such as the Super Bowl, and major international meetings such as the G-20 Summit. The US Secret Service (USSS) designates these planned special events due to the Secret Service’s responsibility for operational security for events of national significance. In most cases, NSSEs affect the transportation system for the jurisdiction in which the NSSE occurs. This document provides a transportation overview of NSSEs. As part of that transportation perspective, the document includes lessons learned from previous NSSEs, two transportation-focused case studies of two recent NSSEs, a checklist to assist transportation practitioners as they prepare for and execute an NSSE, a playbook that identifies key transportation activities for an NSSE, an NSSE fact sheet, a template as an aid to provide information about an NSSE to appropriate groups in both the planning and implementation phases of these events, and a resource directory. The primary audiences for this document are state departments of transportation (DOTs) and local transportation, public works, and law enforcement agencies responsible for planning and executing transportation for NSSEs