HOW DO WE GET A Special Event Permit?

The forms needed to obtain a Special Event Permit are attached. A completed Preliminary Data Sheet anda map of your proposed route should be sent to the appropriate State Highway Administration (SHA) office as soon as possible, but no less than two months before the Event is to take place. These items may be mailed, faxed, emailed, or hand carried; and photocopies are no problem. Please just get it to us in time to review it and make the appropriate arrangements for you.

WHEN IS POLICE ASSISTANCE NEEEDED?

Police assistance is required whenever Event participants will be passing through an intersection in violation of traffic signals or STOP signs; or otherwise violating posted traffic regulations. This most commonly occurs in races so that participants are not delayed at highway intersections. State law allows uniformed police officers to override traffic regulations and keep your participants moving. There are, of course, other instances when police assistance will be needed and the SHA staff you are working with will help make that determination.

If you do need police assistance, it is your responsibility to determine which agency has jurisdiction and make the appropriate arrangements. If the police agency requires reimbursement for their services, you will be required to pay it. We will do everything we can to help you arrange for police assistance, but the ultimate responsibility for arrangements and payment is yours.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The staff assigned to handle Special Events for that office will then forward your Preliminary Data Sheet and map to all of the government agencies that may be needed to assist with your Event. All of us will then work together to lay out a route that will provide the best and safest conditions for both your participants and the general traveling public. When we have all agreed on the route and conditions for your Event, we will send you a completed Special Event Permit Data Sheet showing what we have agreed to and a Special Event Signature Sheet. You may also print and use the Signature Sheet that is attached below.

You have to fill in the lines in the Sponsor’s Acknowledgement section and attach the final Data Sheet and map. Then, you will need to take this package to obtain authorized signatures from the local government(s) whose roadways you will be occupying or otherwise affecting. After that, you will need to take your package to the appropriate Maryland State Police (MSP) facility to obtain their signature. Finally, you will have to bring or mail your package, with all the original signatures but ours, back to the SHA office with which you have been working. The person authorized to sign for the SHA will then sign it and return a copy to you.

We hope you have a successful and SAFE Event. If your event has to be changed or cancelled, please contact the SHA staff with whom you have been working as soon as possible. Also, feel free to contact them if you have any questions or if some unexpected contingency arises. If you have any suggestions about how we can improve our handling of Special Events, please let us know.

State Highway Administration Statewide/Mult-District Special Event Permit (PDF, 72.5 kb)

SHA Special Events Staff Contacts

District 1 – Dorchester , Somerset , Wicomico, and Worcester Counties
For Dorchester and Wicomico Counties
Ms. Deborah L. Wicker
Maryland State Highway Administration
P.O. Box 2679
660 West Road
Salisbury , MD 21802
Telephone: 410-667-4046
Toll Free: 800-825-4742
FAX: 410-543-6598
Email: dwicker@sha.state.md.us

District 2 – Caroline, Cecil , Kent , Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties
Mr. Nelson Lewis
Maryland State Highway Administration
615 Morgnec Road
Chestertown , MD 21620
Telephone: 410-778-3061
Toll Free: 800-637-9740
FAX: 410-778-0851
Email: nlewis@sha.state.md.us

District 3 – Montgomery and Prince George ’s Counties
Ms. Jennifer Shaffer
Maryland State Highway Administration
9300 Kenilworth Avenue
Greenbelt , MD 20770
Telephone: 301-513-7399
Toll Free: 800-749-0737
FAX: 301-513-7415
Email: jshaffer@sha.state.md.us

District 4 – Baltimore , and Harford Counties
Mr. John Vananzo
Maryland State Highway Administration
2323 West Joppa Road
Lutherville , MD 21093
Telephone: 410-321-2790
Toll Free: 800-962-3077
FAX: 410-321-2798
Email: jvananzo@sha.state.md.us

District 5 – Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, and Saint Mary’s Counties
For Anne Arundel County
Mr. Scott Sumner
Maryland State Highway Administration
138 Defense Highway
Annapolis , Maryland 21401
Telephone: 410-841-1003
Toll Free: 800-331-5603
FAX: 410-841-1084
Email: ssumner@sha.state.md.us

For Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties
Mr. Greg Phillips
Maryland State Highway Administration
138 Defense Highway
Annapolis , Maryland 21401
Telephone: 410-841-1003
Toll Free: 800-331-5603
FAX: 410-841-1084
Email: gphillips@sha.state.md.us

District 6 – Allegany, Garrett, and Washington Counties
Mr. John Powell
Maryland State Highway Administration
1251 Vocke Road
La Vale, MD 21502
Telephone: 301-729-8443
Toll Free: 800-760-7138
FAX: 301-729-6968
Email: jpowell1@sha.state.md.us

District 7 – Carroll, Frederick , and Howard Counties
Ms. Mary Poore
District 7 Office
Maryland State Highway Administration
5111 Buckeystown Pike
Frederick , MD 21704
Telephone: 301-624-8140
Toll Free: 800-635-5119
FAX: 301-624-8169
Email: mpoore@sha.state.md.us

For Events Involving More Than One District
Mr. Robert J. Herstein, Team Leader
Statewide Studies Team
Maryland State Highway Administration
7491 Connelley Drive
Hanover , MD 21076
Telephone: 410-787-5867
Toll Free: 800-760-7138
FAX: 410-582-9469
Email: rherstein@sha.state.md.us

Prepared by: Robert J. Herstein
Team Leader
Statewide Studies Team
1 February 2008