March 5, 2002

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Refer to: HOTO-1

Ms. Gabriela Vidal
Manager, Transportation Safety
and Traffic Engineering Branch
Colorado Department of Transportation
4201 East Arkansas Avenue, EP700
Denver, CO 80222

Dear Ms. Vidal:
Thank you for your letter of November 14, 2001, requesting experimentation with rumble strip warning signs and pavement markings. We apologize for the delay in responding to your request. All first class mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service to Federal agencies in the District of Columbia must be processed in a special way to protect government employees from the possibility of handling anthrax-tainted mail. The irradiation process delays delivery by several weeks.

We have reviewed your request and comment as follows:

1. We approve the use of the rumble strip markings as you propose. Please let us know if you encounter any problems in the installation or maintenance of these markings.

2. We believe a warning sign notifying the bicyclist of rumble strips would be more appropriate than the proposed regulatory sign. The proposed sign with vertical placement of text does not reflect standard signing practice. We would prefer that you use a sign assembly similar to that currently found on page 9B-10 of the 2000 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), related to bicycle crossing warning signs. A sample sign assembly is enclosed for your review.

3. Please consider setting up three test locations: one using only the markings; one using only the warning signs; and one using both the markings and warning signs. This will give us some indication whether the sign, marking, or both are effective.

The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD), Technical Committee on Bicycles met in January. The topic of rumble strips and bicyclists was discussed in detail. The FHWA, along with the NCUTCD, recognizes the need for this issue to be addressed in a future revision to the MUTCD. Your progress reports and final reports will provide valuable information on this issue.

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We will keep your request for experimentation on hold until we hear back from you. You may fax your response to our comments and we will proceed with approval upon review of your response.

For reference purposes, we have assigned your request the following official experimentation number and title: "9-69(E)-Shoulder Rumble Strip Warning Signs and Markings." Please refer to this number in future correspondence. In light of the delay in receiving first class mail, you may want to fax a copy of your correspondence directly to us prior to mailing. Our fax number is 202-366-3225.

We look forward to the results and the promise of a new traffic control device that may improve the safety of bicyclists. If you have any questions, please call Ms. Cherie L. Kittle at 202-366-2188.

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

Enclosure
FHWA:HOTO-1 :CKittle:ds:62188:2/8/02
Revised:Ckittle:3-5-02
cc: HOTO-1 HOST-1 HOTO-1(CKittle/EHuckaby)
HOTO-(SWainwright) Mr. Bob Garrett, NCUTCD
Mr. Roger Wentz, ATSSA Mr. Jim Baron, ATSSA
All Resource Centers HDA-CO(2)
Chron 3408 Reader 3408

DF(9-69(E))- Shoulder Rumble Strip Warning Signs and Markings
M:\MUTCD\EXPERIME\9-69ColoradoDOT.doe

Click here to view an image of the Rumble Strip Warning Signs and Pavement Markings. Scroll to the last page of the PDF to the view the image.