Montebello, David K.

Currently, many townships, cities and some rural counties do not have entrance policies and design standards. This report provides rationale on why access should be managed in rural areas. It also identifies fundamental planning principles, design guidelines and best management practices for lower-volume rural roadways. Additional information sources for developing or refining local policies are included. The study reviewed literature, conducted a survey of rural Minnesota counties, townships and cities and identified the following best management practices (BMPs): (1) Establish a formal access policy to determine the need and evaluate use, location and design of requested access points; (2) Encourage coordination during the zoning and platting process; (3) Adopt a policy that grants access for a specific use. If this use should change, a new access permit would be required; (4) Encourage adequate spacing of access points; (5) Protect the functional area of intersections in order to separate conflict areas (typically 480 to 820 feet from the intersection); (6) Ensure adequate sight distance at entrances; (7) Avoid offset or "dogleg" intersections and entrances; (8) Encourage turn lanes and bypass lanes (on higher speed roadways); (9) Consider providing shared access or relocating existing access; and (10) Encourage good driveway and intersection design characteristics.

This report describes the results of studies on the use and effectiveness of rumble strips, including a survey of Minnesota county engineers and a simulation conducted at the University of Minnesota Human Factors Laboratory. Sixty-eight of 87 counties responded to the survey. Of the 68 respondents, 56 install in-lane rumble strips. The survey also asked respondents to describe the guidelines that they used to designate areas for rumble strip installation. As part of the simulation study, test subjects drove in a simulator through a designed experiment to measure the effectiveness of in-lane rumble strips. The results of this study showed different braking patterns between intersections with in-lane rumble strips and those without rumble strips. Those with rumble strips braked earlier and harder. The report recommends that shoulder rumble strips be used in areas with high rates of run-off road crashes. Before-and-after studies have shown conclusively that shoulder rumble strips have reduced run-off road crashes by 20% to 72%. It also recommends a follow-up study on in-lane rumble strips involving drivers that are sleep deprived, under the influence of alcohol, or driving in poor conditions.

This report presents information on the various types of available sign sheeting material and summarizes information on signing terminology, retroreflectivity and the aging problem, signing materials, life-cycle costs, best management practices, and sign management systems. A review of the existing signing materials indicates that some of the higher-priced and higher-quality sheetings have lower life-cycle costs than the less expensive sheetings. As a result, long-term cost savings can be achieved by using the material that is initially more expensive. In addition, it was found that the higher-quality sheetings provide better detection and recognition for drivers.

Recent changes in laws regarding the use of volatile organic compounds impact the type of pavement marking material that many communities use to mark or delineate their roads. This report presents information on the various types of pavement marking materials available and summarizes information on pavement marking material terminology, the various types of pavement marking materials, their durability, and their retroreflectivity. The report explains changes in formulas relating to laws regulating the use of volatile organic compounds, as well as the impacts of those changes. Additionally, it includes a list of best management practices. This report indicates that for low-volume roads [annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 10,000 or less], a conventional product, such as paint, may be the most cost-effective material. For roadways with higher volumes (AADT of 10,000 or more), a more durable product, such as epoxy, tape or thermoplastics, may be more cost effective and may reduce worker exposure to traffic.