Wharf Hall - The Wharf

Event Management Plan
Wharf Hall
Washington, D.C.
June 28, 2012
Prepared by:
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This document, together with the concepts and designs presented herein, as an instrument of services, is
intended for the specific purpose and client for which it was prepared. Reuse of and improper reliance on
this document without written authorization by Gorove/Slade Associates, Inc., shall be without liability to
Gorove/Slade Associates, Inc.
Event Management Plan – Wharf Hall
Gorove/Slade Associates
INTRODUCTION
In order to mitigate traffic congestion and ensure orderly and safe events at Wharf Hall, Hoffman-Madison Waterfront
(HMW) is preparing a multi-faceted and comprehensive traffic and event management plan. This document, the Wharf Hall
Event Management Plan, is one of several aspects of this comprehensive effort. It provides an overview of projected
transportation demand at large-scale events at Wharf Hall and outlines a set of strategies to mitigate impacts of events.
This plan is the first of several elements in HMW’s efforts to mitigate impacts Wharf Hall. Other major elements include:
Events Advisory Taskforce
HMW will create a neighborhood special events committee (similar in scope to the current interim-uses
committee) with key stakeholders to identify best practices and implement operational procedures to minimize
any impact an event at Wharf Hall might have in the SW neighborhood. This Taskforce will meet quarterly, after
HMW closes with the District, and then monthly after opening of Wharf Hall, to provide feedback to HMW as
Wharf Hall becomes operational to allow for necessary adjustments and to address community suggestions.
Representatives from the following stakeholders will be invited to participate in the Taskforce:
Property management of The Wharf
Operational management of Wharf Hall
MPD-1D (Metropolitan Police Department)
DDOT (District Department of Transportation)
Parking garage operators (from adjacent SW garages)
ANC-6D (Advisory Neighborhood Commission)
SWNA (Southwest Neighborhood Assembly)
Operational Plans
The Taskforce will oversee development of an Event Operations Plan (EOP), which will be a detailed list of actions
taken pre and post events at Wharf Hall. The types of actions taken will be tailored to the type and time of the
event. Whereas this document outlines potential impacts and provides an overview of strategies to handle
demand, the EOP will act as an operations manual or handbook describing what happens on days of events. It will
include items such as locations and times for deployment of MPD or Traffic Control Officers (TCO), specific event
only sign placement, locations of temporary bicycle racks, and other event day operations. An example of a
traditional element of an operations plan is an event day ‘flowchart’, which details what measures are taken on
event days.
Marketing Strategies
The Taskforce will also oversee development of a set of marketing strategies to encourage use of a multitude of
transportation modes to The Wharf, and to spread travel out within each mode to help minimize the impacts of
Wharf Hall.
Typically, an event venue of this size and scale does not have a significant operations plan deployed during events, as traffic
and parking impacts do not reach levels that would require significant operational elements that radically shift traffic
patterns, such as street closures and traffic flows that surpass non-event peak traffic. HMW and the Wharf Hall design
team feel that although this is the case, careful thought needs to be given to keep any impact to a minimum and pledges to
work with stakeholders in implementing a comprehensive event mitigation plan.
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Event Management Plan – Wharf Hall
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Design and Programming
Wharf Hall seeks to offer a unique combination of performance, cultural programs and corporate functions. Varied
programming, event attendee experience and the flexibility to present a wide variety of programs is the basis of the Wharf
Hall design and management plan.
The design and programming of Wharf Hall are guided by the following:
A varied program of concerts, cultural programs and corporate events.
A unique venue architecturally, designed for a world-class concert goer/event attendee experience with no
other venue like it in the region.
A design accommodating a range of performances, presentations, programming and events.
The inclusion of “state of the art” technology for event production, performance, filming and broadcast.
No single venue has provided a model for the programming and management of Wharf Hall. The design team has instead
drawn upon the programming, design and management of several nationally prominent music halls, cultural venues and
corporate function icons. The intent is a venue with an unduplicated mix of performances, cultural activities and special
events. Examples include the following:
Model
Hammerstein (3000 max capacity)
Ballroom/The Joint (4000 max capacity)
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6 and Eye Synagogue
92nd Street Y
Building Museum
The DC Convention Center
The National Press Club
The Joint
Programs
Examples
Concerts
Inde, Rock, Country, Rhythm and Blues, Classical
Culture
Lectures, Literary Events, Film Festivals, Discussions
Corporate
Events
Galas, Fundraisers, Annual Meetings, Media Events,
Small Conventions, Weddings, Private Parties, Hotel
Meetings (overflow)
Transportation Demand
The first step in assembling an event management plan is to determine the design transportation and parking demand
loads that Wharf Hall will generate. As described above, Wharf Hall will have a varied program, summarized in three types
of events. The following summarizes transportation considerations for these types of events.
Corporate Meetings and Conferences
These events will take place mostly during traditional office hours, although arrival and departures will occur
intermittently throughout the day. Events like these typical rely heavily on local hotels and pick-up/drop-off
services including taxis. They are not expected to generate significant traffic and parking demand, and will have a
total person capacity significantly lower than full Wharf Hall capacity.
Concerts
Concerts (and similar events such as comedians) will be the major events at Wharf Hall. Most concerts will have an
average attendance between 1,500 and 3,000 patrons and only a small amount of concerts are expected to reach
the maximum capacity of 6,000 patrons. They will have the highest parking demand of any event, and the highest
traffic demand for all modes. When they occur on weeknights, they have the greatest chance of traffic impacts
when some concert goers start arriving at the end of the PM peak commuter hour.
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Cultural Events
These events, which include film premiers, lectures, presentations, art shows, benefit/fundraising galas, weddings,
and cocktail receptions, will take place at varied times, but will have total capacities much lower than the full
Wharf Hall capacity. It is anticipated that event operations for these events will be based on the event operations
plan for concerts, but scaled back significantly, and developed on a case-by-case basis depending on the event size
and time.
Based on this overview, the event management plan was assembled using a 6,000 person concert. Strategies developed for
a large-scale event will apply to smaller scale events. Concerts of this size will occur on both weekends and weeknights but
will be rare relative to the majority of events held at Wharf Hall.
The following table shows the results of a parking and transportation demand estimate for large-scale concerts at Wharf
Hall. It is likely that transportation characteristics of Wharf Hall patrons will change depending on the time and day of week
of concerts. Attendees on weeknights will more likely take transit compared to attendees on weekends. Thus, the demand
table assumes a low and high mode split for transit.
Mode
Mode Split
Persons/Mode
with Synergy reduction
Weeknight (high transit use)
Automobile
39%
2,340
1,560 persons (520 cars)
Transit
44%
2,640
1,760 persons
Bike
5%
300
200 persons
Walk
12%
720
480 persons
Automobile
63%
3,780
2,520 persons (840 cars)
Transit
20%
1,200
800 persons
Bike
5%
300
200 persons
Walk
12%
720
480 persons
Weekend (lower transit usage)
These demand estimates were used to help assemble the mitigations strategies listed below, and are based on the
following assumptions:
Mode Split: The main source of mode split information for event uses is WMATA’s 2005 Development-Related
Ridership Survey, although the main source of data is for movie theaters and none of the sites surveyed in
Ridership Survey is located within the District. The site surveyed by WMATA with the closest characteristics to
Wharf Hall would be the movie theater surveys in Ballston, where multiple Metrorail lines and other modes
can be accessed. Data from these surveys form the basis of the modes split.
Car Occupancy: This report assumes an event car occupancy of three persons per vehicle, per Parking (Robert
A. Weant and Herbert S. Levinson, Eno Foundation for Transportation, 1990).
Synergy: This report assumes a one-third reduction in trip generation to account for synergy of uses within
The Wharf. This takes into account how residents and office workers will compose a portion of concert
attendees, and how concert goers will visit the restaurants and retail shops on site. Without a synergy
reduction, the traffic and parking estimations can be heavily overestimated.
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Strategies for Mitigating Demand
The overall strategy of accommodating events at Wharf Hall is to take advantage of the high quality urban transportation
environment where it is located. The traffic and parking demand generated by events, although seemingly large, can easily
be accommodated across many facilities over several modes of transportation. The urban transportation network of the
District is designed to accommodate this type of activity on a daily basis.
Thus, the success of the event management plan depends on encouraging patrons to take advantage of the all ways to get
to and from Wharf Hall. Three overriding strategies of the management plan are:
Spread-out demand over different modes of travel
The main method for guiding patrons across all modes will occur through marketing, communications and social
media, for which a plan appears later in this document.
Spread-out demand within each mode of travel
A significant step in this strategy is accomplished by having patrons that drive park in a number of parking facilities.
This helps disperse traffic impacts across different roadways. Details on these concepts is discussed below.
Spread-out demand over time
Getting patrons to spread out their arrivals and departures over time can greatly reduce transportation impacts.
Arrivals to concert are generally already spread-out greatly relative to other events (such as sporting events). The
Wharf Hall management team will coordinate onsite programs and events to lessen congestion and peak times
during event arrival and dispersal. These programs will include:
Pre-show dinners and events
After event Wharf Hall promotions and incentives
If these overarching strategies are successful, it is likely that a majority of Wharf Hall transportation impacts can be
mitigated without significant operational elements on event days. The following sections describe event management
strategies for each mode of transportation.
Parking
The parking garage at The Wharf cannot support all of the parking demand generated by Wharf Hall, and a significant
amount of Wharf Hall patrons will need to park off-site. This provides a great opportunity to spread out Wharf Hall
generated traffic across several facilities with different access routes.
One source of off-site parking is the approximately 400 spaces that will exist on The Wharf’s future development parcels.
The site is also expected to use the significant parking supply within a ten-minute walk from Wharf Hall. This parking supply
will be used to supplement the planned supply, be available for when the future parcels are under construction, and to help
spread out parking and traffic demand over the transportation network. A parking inventory identified 5,000 available
public parking spaces off-street within a ten-minute walk of The Wharf. Many of these garages serve office buildings and
will have a sizeable number of spaces available on nights and weekends, and most of these garages will open for special
events during times they are not typically open to service demand as it arises.
The public garages best suited to service Wharf Hall demand are concentrated in three locations, (1) near L’Enfant Plaza
including the very large parking garage located at 950 L’Enfant Plaza, (2) at Waterfront Station, and (3) at the Portals
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development near Maryland Avenue and 12th Street. Over three thousand parking spaces with high availability at nights
and weekends are available at these locations. Based on the parking projections above, up to 800 parking spaces will be
needed to serve demand during a major event. This supply will easily accommodate the projected demand. Several of the
parking operators of these garages have already committed to working with Wharf Hall to coordinate the use of these
spaces and confirm the availability.
This plan makes the following recommendations to make it easier for Wharf Hall patrons to make use of these parking
resources:
Prior to opening, Wharf Hall management should reach out and contact the operators of major garage
facilities nearby, with the goal of gaining agreements that the garages will stay open in return for Wharf Hall
marketing their use from their patrons (as stated above, several garage operators have already agreed to
coordinate).
Major garages that agree to remain open for Wharf Hall events will be advertised and marketed along with the
on-site parking locations as a resource. Maps and parking directions should be provided in the Wharf Hall
website, in social media and as well as other means. The maps should be tailored to spread-out traffic
demand over several routes. Tips and preferred routes to and from the facilities can be provided to patrons to
help them get to and from the parking facilities in the most efficient manner.
Signing should be provided, including signs at garage entrances, and wayfinding signs for pedestrians as they
walk to/from the parking garages and Wharf Hall.
As Wharf Hall gets closer to opening, the Events Advisory Taskforce should review the implementation of these strategies,
including the design and placement of parking signs, routing maps, vehicular signage and pedestrian wayfinding.
Vehicular Access
As described above, patrons driving to Wharf Hall will have several parking locations. In order to minimize impacts and help
patrons find their way to Wharf Hall, this report recommends the following for each parking location:
The Wharf parking garage: Before events, access to this garage should occur the same as during non-event
times. The amount of Wharf Hall patrons using this garage should be relatively low compared to the other
parking locations, and arrivals will be spread out. After events, these will be a significant amount of traffic
demand for a short period of time when patrons leave. To help process cars exiting the site this report
recommends that left turns be allowed from the mews between parcels 1 and 2 to Maine Avenue (typically
only right-out movements would be allowed). This would allow for patrons travelling to downtown or
Northwest DC, and Virginia to avoid heading southeast on Maine Avenue, and back where many pedestrians
will be crossing Maine Avenue. Thus, allowing the turn will help both clear cars out of the garage and avoid
potential pedestrian/vehicle conflicts post event. In order to facilitate the turn, a traffic officer will be needed
to direct traffic over a non-traditionally used opening in the median.
Parking on future parcels: These lots may need wayfinding signage for events, for both cars getting to and
from the lots to ensure they know they’re available, and for patrons walking from the lots to and from Wharf
Hall.
Off-site facilities: Recommendations on easing patron use of these lots is included above in the parking
section.
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In order to help determine best routes and potential congestion points, traffic modeling of concert and corporate functions,
including arrivals/departures, will continue on an on-going basis. The modeling results will be presented to the Events
Advisory Taskforce to help guide decisions on routing maps, wayfinding and selecting preferred off-site parking facilities.
The projected peak arrival and departure times for large-scale concerts, and initial thoughts on traffic capacity are below:
Arriving traffic will peak between 7-8pm. This is off-peak for commuter traffic. With proper dispersal of
drivers along different routes, roadway congestion better than commuter peak times is achievable.
Departing traffic will peak between 11pm-12am. This time is off-peak with a relatively small amount of
vehicles on the road. Intersections will be congested from pedestrians walking to off-site parking and transit
stations, and once they are cleared out, vehicles exiting parking garages and heading home should not
overwhelm the roadways and create congestion spots.
Even during a high attended concert with a low transit use, the largest amount of cars driving to and from an event would
be around 800. If the management plan is successful in spreading parking locations to four general areas (such as The
Wharf, the Portals area, the L’Enfant Plaza garage, and Waterfront Station), approximately 200 cars would be arriving in
area parking facilities. If they are were to arrive or depart in a single hour, that equates to a little over 3 vehicles a minute.
The impact of that relatively low amount of vehicle flow on roadways would be minimal, and in some instances negligible.
Even so, immediately after events, departing traffic may be more concentrated. These and potentially other times should
be analyzed to determine where potential congestion spots could occur. It may be beneficial to have signal timing
adjustments that can be enacted during large scale events that occur off-peak, since signal timings currently in place may
not be designed to handle larger flows of traffic.
In addition to vehicular access to parking lots, other access routes will be needed to accommodate activities such as taxis,
loading and pick-up/drop-off. This report recommends the following for the other vehicular activities:
Loading: Wharf Hall has two 55’ loading docks provided to accommodate the large trucks/buses anticipated
from touring acts. Information provided from concert operators shows that trucks are expected to arrive early
in the morning the day of the concert, and depart after the concert is over, late at night. Due to the size of the
trucks and the dock location, personnel will be needed to help de-conflict trucks maneuvers from pedestrians
and vehicles while they dock in the berths. Truck deliveries will need to be pre-scheduled in order to better
coordinate their management, and ensure that loading activity doesn’t overlap with times of significant
activity at The Wharf.
Valet Parking: Valet parking for Wharf Hall will occur the same way it will for The Wharf in general, at the
general valet stands. During events, additional staff and management will be needed to control queuing.
Pick-off/Drop-off: Pick-up/drop-off activity for Wharf Hall will occur the same way it will for The Wharf in
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general, using the turn-around in front of Parcel 2, 7 Street park, or near the residential lobby for Parcel 2
accessed via the Fish Market traffic signal.
Taxis: Taxi queuing for Wharf Hall will occur the same way it will for The Wharf in general, at the taxi valet
stand in front of Wharf Hall along Maine Avenue. Additional management of the taxi queue and coordination
with taxi companies may be necessary to ensure efficient taxi operations.
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Transit
A significant amount of Wharf Hall patrons will use mass transit, likely with a much higher percentage on Metrorail versus
other forms of transit.
Wharf Hall is primarily served by the L’Enfant Plaza MetroRail Station with Blue, Orange, Green, and Yellow Line service.
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Station portals are located to the north at 7 Street and D Street, 9 Street and D Street, and 7 Street and Maryland
Avenue L’Enfant Plaza and has a great concentration of transportation services, including commuter rail, four Metrorail
Lines with frequent service, and multiple bus routes with frequent service. In addition, WMATA’s Southwest Waterfrontth
SEU Metrorail Green Line station is located at 4 and M Streets, a short walk east of Wharf Hall.
There are three major walking routes from Metrorail portals to Wharf Hall:
1.
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L’Enfant promenade, which connects the western most portal at L’Enfant Plaza to the intersection of 9 Street and
Maine Avenue, adjacent to Wharf Hall,
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2.
7 Street, which connects the eastern portals of L’Enfant plaza with Maine Avenue, and
3.
Maine Avenue connecting to Waterfront Metrorail Station located at M Street and 4 Street, SW.
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All of these routes have walking paths and signalized crossings at major streets. Before concerts, transit riders will arrive
across these three routes and spread-out over time, which will minimize their impact to walking routes to and from Wharf
Hall. When events end, a more concentrated flow of pedestrians will walk back on these same routes.
Several concerns exist with transit service, which will need to be resolved prior to the opening of Wharf Hall. A concert with
maximum capacity has the potential to generate a transit demand of 2,600 riders. This is a significant amount of riders,
even spread out over several stations and four MetroRail lines. The Events Advisory Taskforce should open discussions with
WMATA regarding capacity during weeknights when concerts are expected to have more transit riders trying to use the
system after concerts when service is lower. Depending on WMATA’s response, solutions may need to be developed
adding transit capacity to the system. Alternatively, more riders could be encouraged to drive and use the off-site parking
lots, which will have a large amount of empty parking spaces. This is not preferred because it would increase the potential
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traffic impacts of large events. Secondly, the L’Enfant Plaza station portal located at 7 Street and D Street is closed on
weekends. Since it is one of the closer portals to Wharf Hall, its closure could negatively impact the transit rider’s
experience. The Taskforce should discuss opening this portal with WMATA. Finally, Wharf Hall management will need to
schedule concerts to ensure that the end in time for transit riders to access the system well before it closes.
Bicycle
Several high quality bicycle facilities connect Wharf Hall to the overall District bicycle network. The Wharf has an
abundance of bicycle parking, both in the garage and on-street in bicycle racks scattered throughout the development. Two
Capital Bikeshare stations are located within The Wharf, one adjacent to Wharf Hall.
The expected number of cyclists during a large-scale event could put a strain on the already significant bike parking supply
at The Wharf. It may be beneficial to add temporary bike racks near Wharf Hall for high attendance events to avoid cyclists
parking their bikes on signs and other makeshift locations. A bicycle valet may also be an option for high-attendance events
at Wharf Hall, depending on how much bicycle traffic is generated by the site.
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Pedestrian
Safe and efficient pedestrian access from the off-site parking facilities, transit stations and the surrounding area is a key
element of the event management plan. Overall, the pedestrian facilities near Wharf Hall provide a good walking
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environment. Pedestrian access to the site is provided along all adjacent streets, including Maine Avenue, M Street, 7
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Street, and 6 Street. Sidewalks, crosswalks, and curb ramps with detectable warnings are provided along the length of
Maine Avenue and M Street for most crossings. Nearly all streets in the study area have adequate sidewalks, planted
buffers between sidewalks and the curb, and on-street parking that provides an additional buffer between pedestrians and
vehicular traffic.
During large-scale events, pedestrians crossing the street next to Wharf Hall may overwhelm the sidewalk and impede
other modes of travel. In order to facilitate pedestrians crossing Maine Avenue in front of Wharf Hall before and after
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events, police officers may be needed to direct traffic at the intersections of Maine Avenue with 7 Street and 9 Street.
The purpose of these officers would be to remove conflicts between vehicular and pedestrian traffic at these intersections.
Notably, they will be needed to help clear out pedestrian traffic after concerts end. Clearing pedestrians from the area, and
getting them on walking routes to the parking facilities and transit stations as fast as possible will help all patrons get home
quicker. Police officers manually controlling intersections can sometimes accomplish this more efficiently than a traffic
signal.
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Marketing and Communications
A marketing plan is essential to help meet the goals of spreading out Wharf Hall demand across and within modes of travel.
Elements that can be included in the marketing plan are:
Transit Service Marketing
A comprehensive program for communicating to event patrons prior to their arrival at Wharf Hall will provide
important information for both patrons and neighbors to influence transportation choices.
Every major event will have descriptive locator map showing nearest Metrorail stops—Waterfront Station and
L’Enfant Plaza. Complete Metrorail and VRE access descriptions will appear on all ads, tickets, promotional
materials, public relations campaign, press releases, etc. Consistent with HMW policies, all Wharf Hall marketing
will strongly encourage guests to arrive by walking, biking, Metro and other forms of public transportation. Ample
Capital Bike Share Stations will be located throughout The Wharf and Metro stations, encouraging the use of
alternative transportation.
New Technologies: Real Time Traveler and Patron Information
The Wharf Hall Management Team is monitoring the development of new technologies and tools for congestion
mitigation. Three promising tools for patrons to the Wharf Hall include:
The Wharf Hall on line Transportation Guide. This online Transportation Guide will provide the Wharf Hall
Patron with all the pertinent information to make informed transportation choices prior to attending and
event, concert or program at Wharf Hall.
Real Time GIS Traffic Data. Congestion avoidance tools for both events patrons and neighbors will be
available to provide real time information to drivers on routes and access to the Wharf during commuter peak
times and event arrival.
This information can be disseminated through the website, and Smartphone
applications.
Wharf Hall Transportation App. Similar to the applications currently availability for Bikeshare, Wharf Hall will
look into creating a Smartphone application that can provide both automobile patrons and those arriving by
bicycle with information about the nearest available parking as the approach Southwest DC. Additional
features could be added, such as showing preferred routing for all modes, real-time updates on traffic and
transit arrival/departure times.
Four Point Signage & Wayfinding Program
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Pedestrian Route Maps and Signage
To and from Wharf Hall and Metro portals
On all associated websites
Social media campaign for immediate information
Bicycle Route Maps and Signage
On all associated websites
Social media campaign
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Coordinate with District to get Wharf Hall on existing wayfinding sign network
Transit (Rail and Bus) Route Maps and Signage
On all associated websites
Social media campaign
Preferred Car Route Maps with Parking Plan and Garage Options
On all associated websites
Social media campaign
Specific maps and directions made for ‘preferred’ driving, that emphasize quickest routes that avoid
neighborhoods, and overlap with other driving routes
Southwest BID Hospitality Team
The Wharf Hall Management Team anticipates the formation of a Business Improvement District in Southwest DC
to correspond with the first year of operation of The Wharf and Wharf Hall. The Southwest BID will support MPD
with information and assistance for pedestrians, wayfinding, directions and incident reporting and assistance.
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