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{{Short description|Major emergency plan test}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
'''Operation Fast Forward''' is a major test of [[emergency plan]]s to evacuate large numbers of people from the downtown area of [[Washington, DC]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070101621.html |title=Mall Crowd To Undergo 'Emergency' Evacuation |last=Schwartzman |first=Paul |date=2005-07-02 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809161221/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070101621.html |archive-date=2014-08-09 |access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref> It is conducted in conjunction with the end of the annual fireworks display on the [[National Mall]] on 4 July. A large number of people traditionally leaves the area in the fifteen minutes following the show, and so it was decided to use this annual phenomenon to test the emergency plan.

The plan funnels motorists and pedestrians towards the [[I-695 (DC)|I-695]] Beltway along the designated emergency evacuation routes.<ref>{{cite web|title=EMA Evacuation Route|url=https://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/evac/|work=DC Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency website|publisher=Government of Washington DC|access-date=15 June 2012|author=DC HSEMA}}</ref> [[Traffic signal]]s are modified so motorists traveling on these evacuation routes receive "green lights" for 240 seconds instead of 90 seconds. The [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]] runs additional subway cars and buses to aid the movement of people away from the National Mall. The coordinators monitor and gather data on the movement of individuals for future evacuation planning.<ref>{{cite news|last=Berman|first=Mark|title=Get There - Operation Fast Forward|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2009/07/operation_fast_forward_set_for.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226122327/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2009/07/operation_fast_forward_set_for.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 26, 2013|access-date=15 June 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 3, 2009}}</ref>

==References==

<references />

[[Category:2005 in American politics]]
[[Category:Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Emergency management in the United States]]

Operation Fast Forward - Revision history

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