Smart Event Traffic Management: Impact on the Central Florida Regional Transportation Network and Lessons Learned

In 2008 the City of Orlando, Florida, embarked on construction of a new Amway Center to replace the existing Amway Arena. The new center was designed to host a variety of events such as concerts, arena football, graduation ceremonies, National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball, and the National Basketball Association\u27s (NBA\u27s) Orlando Magic home games. The Amway Center, which opened in October 2010, had a capacity of 19,000 patrons for NBA games. The Amway Center was adjacent to Interstate 4 and State Road 408 in the downtown core. To prepare for the Amway Center\u27s event management challenges, the City of Orlando\u27s Transportation Engineering Department utilized smart event traffic management techniques, which integrated the following system and plan components: intelligent transportation system infrastructure (software and hardware), traffic control device upgrades, regional planning efforts, and state-of-the-art safety and security protocols. These components also helped minimize the environmental impacts of traffic congestion. When designing smart event plans, it is important to consider high-threshold events such as the NBA All-Star Game for system performance and to understand the balance required for operational efficiency and security in today\u27s global climate. In addition, infrastructure performance is critical during high-profile events so that the local economy can benefit and the municipality can stay competitive to attract more of these types of events. Finally, the resultant operational efficiency is vital for reducing the carbon footprint and negative societal impacts