6.0 Summary of Recommendations

6.5.8 Ongoing Research and Activities

Recent related research, reports, experiments and studies related to traffic control strategies at toll plazas include the following:

Expressway Authority Guidelines for Preparation of Signing and Pavement Marking Plans prepared by Orlando-Orange County Expressway by Authority with support from Post Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan (July 2005)

These guidelines intended to guide Section Engineer Consultants in the preparation of Signing and Pavement Marking Plans for the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.

Traffic Control Devices at Transponder-controlled Toll Booth Lanes - Final Report prepared by Gary A. Golembiewski and Richard L. Knoblauch Center with Applied Research, Inc. with contributions from the Pooled Fund Consortium, dated December 29, 2004.

This study reviewed selected ETC toll road signs in the United States to help determine four basic elements (background color, font color, underlay color, and pictograph) and options to be used in a laboratory experiment. Analysis of the results showed the following:

• Overall, green as a background color obtained the longest guidance information legibility distance,
• Fonts that provided the highest contrast to the background color (such as white) were most effective for legibility,
• The EZ TAG pictograph (which was purple, as were all pictographs in this study) showed dramatically longer legibility distances than did the other pictographs, this result was consistent across all underlay colors, The underlay colors that showed the highest contrast to the pictographs were most effective and included all the lighter colors tested (white, yellow, and light blue)
• The underlay colors that showed the highest contrast to the pictographs were most effective and included all the lighter colors tested (white, yellow, and light blue)

Texas DOT Manual Chapter 2J Toll Road Signing, 2006 Edition

Criteria for signing toll roads for various conditions and scenarios including details on route shields, regulatory, and guide signs used on toll roads.

Harris Country Toll Road Authority requested (December 29, 2005) and received approval (February 10, 2006) from the FHWA Office of Transportation Operations to experiment with purple background guide signs under the provisions of Section 1A.10, Interpretation, Experimentations, and Changes of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (M1JTCD).

The experiment involves the installation of purple background guide signs on direct connect ramps to the all electronic Westpark Tollway facility. These signs would be compared to green guide signs with a purple banner across the top. The evaluation plan includes an assessment of driver comprehension, legibility, and recognition. The revised work plan also clarifies the durability analysis and expects to answer technical questions previously posed by FHWA. The evaluation will be conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute with Dr. Susan Chrysler serving as Principal Investigator.

Freeway and Interchange Geometric Design Handbook published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2006 (companion to AASHTO’s A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 5th Edition (Greenbook)). Recognizing the geometric design procedures for freeways and interchanges may vary among agencies, this handbook sets forth the techniques and procedures successfully applied on numerous constructed and reconstructed projects. This handbook focuses on geometric and operational characteristics of freeways and interchanges including toll facilities and HOV/managed lanes.

Recognizing the geometric design procedures for freeways and interchanges may vary among agencies; this handbook sets forth the techniques and procedures successfully applied on numerous constructed and reconstructed projects. This handbook focuses on geometric and operational characteristics of freeways and interchanges including toll facilities and HOV/managed lanes.

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