Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh St. SW
Washington, DC 20590

January 28, 2003

Refer to: HOTO-1

Mr. Chuck Hydeman
Streets Division Supervisor
City of Goodyear
P.O. Box 5100
Goodyear, AZ 85338

Dear Mr. Hydeman:

Thank you for your December 11, 2002, letter requesting experimentation with yellow-green pavement markings for pedestrian crossings at three locations.

It is our understanding that the pedestrian crossings in question are not officially-designated school crosswalks but are pedestrian crosswalks used by some school children on their walking routes to elementary schools. We further understand that the crosswalks will be installed following a road resurfacing project, utilizing a pattern of parallel 10 feet long longitudinal bars, with each bar comprised of 2 feet wide white markings directly alongside 2 feet wide yellow-green markings.

You have our approval to begin installing the marking material as soon as you have collected "before" data as discussed below. This experimentation is approved for a minimum of 2 years.

We have received several inquiries on experimentation with the yellow-green pavement marking materials. We are working with the research staff at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center in developing guidance for an effective evaluation plan and data gathering. The following is a non-exclusive list of data that we recommend be collected for both before and after conditions.

Vehicle speeds
Vehicle volumes
Pedestrian volumes Driver behavior (on-set of braking, yielding, etc.)
Pedestrian behavior
Weather conditions
Time of day
Time of year

We also recommend including a control site at a comparable pedestrian crossing location in order to validate data collection. This same data would also be collected at that site. It is recommended that the white markings at the control site be installed at the same time as the experimental markings at the three locations. We hope to have a sample data collection form in the near future. Please note that it is not critical that your "after" data collection take place immediately following installation. The collection of the data in the spring would be acceptable and may even be preferred since the novelty effect may wear off and it would also allow for some weathering of the material.

Please develop an evaluation plan to include the items mentioned above. Please follow the guidelines found in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), Section 1A.10 (Items A-I) in addressing administrative details. Also, please acknowledge the following:

(1) your agreement that semiannual progress reports will be provided (Section 1A.10, Item I), and (2) your acknowledgement that you agree to restore the site of the experimentation to a condition that complies with the provisions of the MUTCD within 3 months of the end of the time period of the experimentation period. Also, please acknowledge that you agree to terminate the experimentation at any time it is determined significant safety concerns are directly or indirectly attributable to the experimentation. In addition, the FHWA has the authority to terminate this experimentation at any time there is an indication of safety concerns.

For reference purposes, we have assigned your request the following official experimentation number and title: "3-157(E)-Yellow-Green Pavement Markings for Pedestrian Crossings." Please refer to this number in future correspondence. To expedite the approval process you may fax your revised plan to us at 202-366-3225.

If you have any questions, please call Mr. Scott Wainwright at 202-366-0857.

Sincerely yours,

/s/

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