The Planning Framework For The Evacuation of the Transportation Needs Populations in Central Ohio
UPDATED: The Evacuation Framework wins the American Planning Association’s Federal Division's 2010 Outstanding Collaborative Planning Project award.
The Award's Description
The groundwork document, providing the foundation for a long-term, multi-phase collaborative strategic planning process, exemplified a high level of effective intermural cooperation between a regional planning commission, a federal agency, and various local leaders and stakeholders in an effort to achieve integrated emergency response and disaster preparedness. With its particular focus on transportation issues relative to evacuation and access to relief and recovery services, the plan’s framework organization is exceptionally detailed and well-structured, and its visual elements and graphics are very effective compliments to the text and quantitative data. It can and will serve as an exemplary approach to regional planning in the face of vulnerability challenges.
Project Background
MORPC received a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to develop an evacuation planning framework that expressly addresses transportation needs populations in the seven-county area of Central Ohio. This Framework lays the groundwork for more robust strategies in the region to ensure that future evacuations will efficiently and effectively accommodate the vulnerable Transportation Needs Populations. Beyond Central Ohio, this Framework will serve as a nationwide model for regional cooperation in emergency preparedness for Transportation Needs Populations. It will be used as a guide by other regions throughout the United States in developing their own plans that are tailored to their regions.
Project Purpose
Communication and cooperation are critical to any evacuation planning and emergency preparedness activity, particularly as it concerns populations with specific mobility needs. The Central Ohio region includes over 200 local government agencies and almost 600 different taxing districts within the seven-county study area. Many, if not all, of these organizations and agencies have emergency operation plans in varying levels of detail. Additionally, there are other public and private sector organizations that have to take into account emergency preparedness and disaster response. Proper coordination is critical to ensure their respective plans take into account other plans that are already in place and that all plans, whether individually or in combination, address the Transportation Needs Populations. Lack of communication, resources, or proper planning in the event of a disaster will affect these populations first, and most directly.
The Central Ohio Planning Framework will allow the various emergency preparedness plans in the region to be coordinated and consistent with a regional strategy that focuses on the Transportation Needs Populations. The Framework is not intended to replace existing private sector, governmental, or other local emergency preparedness plans. Rather, it is intended to enhance existing agency plans by identifying potential conflicts and providing improvement and coordination recommendations to specific agencies, thus greatly minimizing the potential dangers of miscommunication or inconsistencies between plans. The goal is to create a seamless Framework for the region that builds upon and supplements jurisdictional plans that are already in place.
Complete Framework (8 MB)
Framework Sections
Executive Summary
Section 1: Introduction
This section provides background information, a description of the project phases, and assumptions that are built into the Framework development process.
Section 2: General Guidance
This section gives an overview of the project area, demographic information for Central Ohio, communication guidelines, available public transportation and transit services, transportation and sheltering needs for transportation needs populations (including service animals), and re-entry considerations.
Section 3: Over-Arching Common Operating Picture
This section discusses organizational roles and identifies appropriate steps for the evacuation of transportation needs populations.
Section 4: Operational Information (FOUO)
This section contains region-specific information for use by Emergency Management Agencies (EMA) and other organizations involved with planning and executing evacuations of mobility needs populations. This information is For Official Use Only (FOUO) and is not available to the general public.
Section 5: Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
Section 6: References
Section 7: Appendices
Appendix 1 contains a list of Steering Committee members with their contact information. Appendix 2 provides minutes from each Special Emergency Transportation Needs Forum Discussion. Appendix 3 contains an example Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Please direct any comments or questions to Daniel Haake dhaake@morpc.org.
