U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

November 9, 2000
Refer to: HOTO-1

Mr. Pete Graham
Project Manager
State of Colorado Department of Transportation
Region 4 Loveland Residency
2207 East Highway 402
Loveland, CO 80537

Dear Mr. Graham:

Thank you for your letter of September 5 to Mr. James Daves, the former Colorado Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Lakewood, Colorado. Please be advised that the Acting Division Administrator is Mr. Douglas Bennett. Your correspondence included a Request to Experiment from Mr. Eric L. Bracke, the City Traffic Engineer of Fort Collins, Colorado. The Request to Experiment has been forwarded to the Office of Transportation Operations, FHWA, Washington, DC, for a reply. The Request to Experiment is for both "Pedestrian Crosswalk LED Warning Lights," and "Signs and Pavement Markings recommended in the FHWA Roundabout Design Guide." For ease of processing, we have separated your Request to Experiment into two responses.

  1. Pedestrian Crosswalk LED Warning Lights. Your request to experiment with Pedestrian Crosswalk Warning Lights is not approved. We do not feel these lights should be used at locations controlled by traffic signals, stop signs, or yield signs. For your information, Docket No. FHWA-1999-6575 "Notice of Proposed Amendments (NPA) to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)" Part 3, Section 3B-17 describes Markings for Roundabouts." We have enclosed a copy of Section 3B-17 for your information. In addition, the proposed NPA, Part 4 update that you refer to in your request, does not indicate that the in-roadway lights are used where the intersection is controlled by traffic control devices such as signals, stop signs, or yield signs. We have enclosed Section 4L for your information. Also, the FHWA has not approved all the experimental sites listed in your letter.
  2. Signs and Pavement Markings Recommended in the FHWA Roundabout Design Guide. We have reviewed your letter and "Signs and Pavement Markings that are Currently Not Addressed in the 1988 Edition of the MUTCD" dated August 30 in support of your Request to Experiment. Be aware that Publication FHWA-RD-00-067, Roundabouts: An Informational Guide, Federal Highway Administration, June 2000 does not constitute a standard and that a Request to Experiment is required if the traffic control devices deviate from the MUTCD. Requests to Experiment must be in accordance with Section 1A-6 of the MUTCD.

In order for us to process your request, we need the following information. The requested information may be provided by fax to Mr. Harold Lunenfeld at 202-366-3225.

  1. Information locating the installation.
  2. While you described the installation as "the use of a yield sign on more than one approach to an intersection, a long chevron plate, advanced diagrammatic guide signs, exit signs, and the dashed yield line striping," you did not provide an illustration of the experimental installation.
  3. Please provide a detailed research or evaluation plan including the data you will collect and the time period of the experiment. The plan must also provide for close monitoring of the experimentation, especially in the early stages of its field implementation.
  4. Please provide an agreement to restore the experimental site to a state complying with the provisions of the MUTCD within 3 months following the end of the time period of the experiment. This agreement must also provide that the agency sponsoring the experimentation will terminate the experimentation at any time that it determines significant safety hazards are directly or indirectly attributable to the experimentation. The FHWA Office of Transportation Operations (HOTO-1) may also terminate approval of the experimentation at any time if there is an indication of hazards. If, as a result of the experimentation, a request is made that the Manual is changed to include the device or application being experimented with, the device or application may remain in place until an official rulemaking action has occurred.
  5. Please provide an agreement to provide semiannual progress reports for the duration of the experimentation and to provide a copy of the final results of the experimentation to the FHWA Office of Transportation Operations within 3 months following completion of the experimentation. The Office of Transportation Operations may terminate approval of the experimentation if reports are not provided in accordance with the schedule.

For reference purposes, we have assigned your request the following official experimentation number and title: III-121(E) "Signs and Markings in Roundabout Design Guide." Please refer to this number in future correspondence.

If you have any questions while preparing your revised request to experiment, please call Mr. Harold Lunenfeld at 202-366-6598.

Sincerely yours,

Shelley J. Row, P.E.
Director, Office of Transportation Operations