Appendix I_Sign Inventory Guide.pdf

Appendix I

Sign Inventory Guide

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Appendix I: Sign Inventory Guide

1. SIGN INVENTORY DATA SOURCES

Refer to Appendix J: Park Database Data Dictionary for further information on the inventory described below.

The MUTCD sign guide presented in this Appendix provides common signs encountered in the NPS system. For signs not shown in this document, consult the website for the MUTCD

Standard Highway Signs, 2004 Edition at: www.mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs_millennium_eng.htm for an inclusive list of signs.

Inventory Signs From Video

Inventory, from video, the below-listed sign attributes. Classify each sign according to the attributes listed and categories as defined in this Appendix, and Appendix J: Park

Database Data Dictionary.

All “co-located” signs must have common milepost and GPS locations. I.e.: Two or more signs mounted on a common signpost will be inventoried as individual signs at the same location.

Signs must be inventoried and reported in the proper sequence in which they occur on the ground.

Inventory the following information for all signs from primary and opposite video:

• Point feature

• Milepost location

• Milepost GPS

• Side of sign’s location (left or right) relative to the lane of travel

(primary/opposite)

• Sign text (if no text, “Graphic sign, no text”)

• MUTCD category (Regulatory, Warning, and Guide)

• MUTCD code (regulatory and warning signs and object markers only, listed in guide)

Classify each sign according to the attributes listed and these categories defined in this

Appendix, and Appendix J: Park Database Data Dictionary.

2. SCOPE OF SIGN INVENTORY

Exclude the following signs from the inventory:

• Temporary or construction-related roadway signs (usually orange).

• Any commercial signs located on adjacent, non-park property. For example, exclude hotel or restaurant signs located on adjacent properties.

• Mobile signs, such as “no parking” signs located on the sides of dumpsters.

• Interpretive media (e.g., interpretive park plaques, monuments, etc.).

http://www.mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs_millennium_eng.htm http://www.mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs_millennium_eng.htm

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• Signs not intended for use by drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, etc. on the route being collected. That is, if a sign is intended for use by drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, etc. on an adjacent or intersecting route and is visible in the video, exclude it from the inventory for the route being collected. Signs in parking areas adjacent to the route being collected are features of the parking area and must not be inventoried as features of the route. However, signs located in pullouts adjacent to the route being collected are features of the route and must be inventoried as features of the route.

• Signs at intersections, oriented parallel to the route being collected, that are intended for use by drivers of the intersecting route.

• Signs beyond the geographic end of a route that may be visible in the video (e.g., for a route that terminates at an intersection, exclude any “do not enter” signs located along intersecting routes). However, include every sign within the route’s geographic bounds that is intended to serve that route and is not located along another route (e.g., for a route terminating at a T intersection, include any directional guide signs that are located across the T intersection).

• Signs visible in the opposite direction video that are inventoried in the primary direction (i.e., double-sided signs). Inventory such signs only once, in the primary direction. Never inventory a single sign twice within a single route.

• Mile markers are collected as mile marker features and not as signs.

Inventory all signs and object markers not excluded above, whether oriented parallel or perpendicular to the lane of travel.

3. SIGN MILEPOST DETERMINATION

Assign to all signs the milepost and associated milepost GPS locations of the primary-direction lane perpendicular to the sign’s location. Inventory the content of signs facing opposite-direction drivers from the opposite-direction video, but record the location of such signs relative to the primary-direction mileage.

All mileposts assigned to signs must be between (and including) 0.000 and the ending milepost of the route.

LOCATING SIGNS by MILEPOST and GPS

ROADWAY VIDEO

Data

Element

Location

Method

Reporting

Precision Accuracy Location

Location

Relative to

Primary Lane

Signs

Video

Inventory 3 decimals <= 0.001 mile

Milepost perpendicular to sign location

Left Side, Right

Side, or N/A (e.g., N/A=Overhead

Sign)

Center of

Primary

Lane at

Sign

Video

Inventory

Lat/Lon, WGS 84, Decimal

Degrees 6 decimals <= 3.00 feet

Identify Sign

Relative to

Corresponding

Milepost

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4. SIGN TEXT

For signs, populate the PMS_FEATURE.EVENT_DESC field with any text visible on the sign. Do not attempt to describe symbols visible on signs. Do not record any sign contents in the PMS_FEATURE.EVENT_DESC field for signs that display no text. For signs with no text, record “GRAPHIC SIGN, NO TEXT” in the

PMS_FEATURE.EVENT_DESC field.

5. OVERHEAD SIGN DESIGNATION

If a sign appears overhead (e.g., a height clearance sign attached to an overpass), inventory the sign normally, but populate the SIDE field with N/A and the COMMENT field with OVERHEAD.

6. MUTCD CATEGORIZATION AND CODING

All signs and object markers must be categorized according to MUTCD category and/or

MUTCD code.

MUTCD sign categories are Regulatory (REGU), Warning (WARN), and Guide (GUID).

Use the table, MUTCD Codes for NPS-RIP Sign Inventory, to identify the MUTCD category and code for all Regulatory and Warning signs. Guide signs receive an

MUTCD category but no MUTCD code.

Regulatory (REGU)

➢ MUTCD category

➢ MUTCD code

Warning (WARN)

➢ MUTCD category

➢ MUTCD code

Guide (GUID)

➢ MUTCD category

• Sign images must match the table examples exactly in shape, dimensions, color, and text, with the following clarifications, where sign elements can vary from the specific examples shown:

o Speed Limits.

▪ R2-1 is an example of this. A sign resembling the example sign shown in all respects that displays a speed limit other than 50 is still an R2-1.

o Times of Day / Hours / Minutes.

▪ R3-9c, R7-5, and R7-108 are examples of this.

o Street Names.

▪ R3-9g and W16-8 are examples of this.

o Distances / Clearances.

▪ R11-3a, W10-11a, and W12-2p are examples of this.

o Weight Limits.

▪ R12-4 is an example of this.

o Number of Tracks.

▪ R15-2 is an example of this.

I - 4 o HOV Allowances.

▪ R3-10 is an example of this.

o Grade.

▪ W7-3 is an example of this.

o Lanes.

▪ R3-9f is an example of this.

o Left/Right/Center Arrows or Text.

▪ If a sign image resembles the table example in every respect other than the direction of the arrow, and if no other table example displays an alternate arrow direction, assign the MUTCD code associated with that example sign. R9-11 is an example of this.

▪ For sets of signs that present multiple options for the directions that arrows point and the words “LEFT”, “RIGHT”, or

“CENTER”, assign the MUTCD code associated with the direction shown. R3-1 / R3-2, R15-4A / R15-4B / R15-4C, and W4-2L /

W4-2R are examples of this.

• For some signs in the table, alternate text values and MUTCD codes are listed (for example, R15-4a, R15-4b, R15-4c). For these cases, assign the MUTCD code associated with the appropriate alternate text where necessary.

• Below some signs in the table, a year is listed stating the most recent year of

MUTCD compliance. For these signs, populate the MUTCD field with the

MUTCD code followed by a space and the year (e.g., “R1-1 1989”).

Many signs within the National Park Service system are non-standard. If a sign is not found in the table MUTCD Codes for NPS-RIP Sign Inventory, assign its MUTCD code as N/A and its MUTCD category based on its background color:

• White / Red: REGULATORY

• Yellow: WARNING

• Other Color: GUIDE

• Orange: exclude sign from inventory (refer to “Scope of Sign Inventory” above)

If a sign is not legible in the video, assign its MUTCD category in EVENT_CODE field using above criteria, assign the MUTCD code as N/A in the MUTCD field, and the populate the EVENT_DESC and COMMENT fields with UNABLE TO READ FROM

VIDEO.