LOS ANGELES, 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES

The possibility of essentially congestion-free operation of the Los Angeles transportation system was not so evident when transportation agencies first assembled in 1982 to begin planning for 1984 Olympic traffic. On the freeway system alone, motorists experience daily congestion on nearly 225 of the 700 miles in the morning peak and 275 miles in the afternoon/evening peak. The Olympics would hit this system with an estimated 6 million spectators at 24 venues spread throughout the basin with events scheduled throughout the day and nearly 25,000 athletes, world media, and Olympic family members transported to the venues on set timetables. As planners had neither time nor money to develop major new transportation facilities, planning and managing Olympic traffic had to be accomplished essentially through transportation system management techniques. Also, it became evident that the success of any plan would depend upon the willingness of each transportation and law enforcement agency to perform its traditional functions in cooperation with each other. This paper presents a scenario of the entire project and concludes with a discussion of those factors that contributed the most to its success.

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr212/sr212-017.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0360859X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appeared in Transportation Research Board Special Report 212, Transportation Management for Major Highway Reconstruction, Proceedings of the National Conference on Corridor Traffic Management for Major Highway Reconstruction, Chicago, Illinois, September 28 - October 1, 1986. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Roper, David H
• Conference:
  • National Conference on Corridor Traffic Management for Major Highway Reconstruction, 1986, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Location: Chicago Illinois, United States
  • Date: 1986-9-28 to 1986-10-1
• Publication Date: 1987

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: pp 107-116
• Monograph Title: TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT FOR MAJOR HIGHWAY RECONSTRUCTION
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 212
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Conferences; Cooperation; Programming (Planning); Reconstruction; Special events; Transportation planning; Transportation system management
• Old TRIS Terms: Traffic planning for special events
• Subject Areas: Construction; Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00471954
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 31 1988 12:00AM