Note: This is a 3-part series on what advocates can do to provide comment on the draft Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Part I provides background on the document and why it’s important to comment. Parts II and III will focus on bicyclist- and pedestrian-specific elements of the draft MUTCD.

By Don Kostelec
January 17, 2021

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. It’s a mouthful but it greatly influences how our streets are operated and managed. MUTCD is why a speed limit sign in Florida looks the same as a speed limit sign in Idaho (don’t mention Oregon’s speed limit signs). It’s what guides how a pedestrian signal is timed for people to cross the street.

A draft of the 11th edition is now published by the Federal Highway Administration for public comment. It is the first update to the manual since 2009. Comments are due March 15, 2021, but many agencies are requesting an extension.

A lot has changed in the realm of active transportation design in those 12 years. A lot has changed in the flow of information and impact of online technology, including social media. This means the 11th edition of MUTCD is going to be the most publicly-viewed and publicly-vetted version in the 85-year history of the manual.

By Don Kostelec
November 14, 2020

November 15, 2020 is World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Crash Victims. This important and sobering date is supported by the World Health Organization and United Nations. It dates back to 2005. In the United States, Families for Safe Streets leads the effort on behalf of traffic violence victims.

This year it brings to mind the June 2018 crash along I-84 in Boise, which killed three military members from Idaho’s Mountain Home Air Force Base and a truck driver from New York. They were:

• Senior Airman Carlos “C.J.” Johnson, 23, of Key West, Florida;
• Senior Airman Lawrence “Pit” Manlapit III, 26, of Bridgeport, Connecticut;
• Senior Airman Karlie A. Westall, 21, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota;’ and
• Illya Tsar, 42, of Rochester, New York.

The crash occurred at the Cloverdale Road overpass of I-84 as the interstate was undergoing a maintenance project. The fire that resulted from the crash damaged the overpass and necessitated its replacement. The interstate and Cloverdale Road overpass where this crash occurred is managed by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), while Cloverdale Road is managed by Ada County Highway District (ACHD). The agencies scrambled to rebuild the overpass, which was necessary. They did it in record time.

By Don Kostelec
August 4, 2020

We saw a series of promotional items from various agencies about their commitment to implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it approached its 30th Anniversary on July 26, 2020,

NCDOT bragged about curb ramps. I chuckled because I’ve spent more than a decade pointing out how they still build curb ramps that don’t have flat landings at the top of them and they have regularly ignored other facets of accessibility in engineering of their roads.

Here in Boise, the Ada County Highway District Commission passed a resolution at its July 22, 2020, meeting titled “A PROCLAMATION OF RECOMMITMENT TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA).”