Developed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MN MUTCD) establishes statewide standards for the design, placement, and use of traffic control devices, including signs, signals, and pavement markings. The 11th edition of the manual, which went into effect in January, includes important updates—both statewide and national—for agencies to be aware of.
To provide an overview of the most significant changes, MnLTAP hosted a webinar with Tiffany Kautz, a traffic standards engineer for MnDOT who led the effort to rewrite Minnesota’s MUTCD. With the national MUTCD—developed by the Federal Highway Administration—serving as the backbone, the MN MUTCD is tailored to fit Minnesota’s needs when possible while retaining substantial conformance, Kautz explained.
Additions
The 11th edition of the manual added a new section of content under Part 5, titled Traffic Control Device Considerations for Automated Vehicles. While relatively short, this section provides agencies with general guidance for traffic control devices that could help accommodate automated vehicles and also benefit other road users. This edition also features a handful of interim approvals, including green-colored pavement for bike lanes, red-colored pavement for transit lanes, bicycle signal faces, and more.
Removals
Some commonly used signs and symbols from Minnesota’s roadways didn’t make the cut for the 11th edition of the manual. Examples include roundabout directional arrows, which confound a warning sign with a regulation; Minnesota’s “Right Lane Closed” and “Left Lane Closed” signs, which will be updated to align with national standards; the helmeted bike symbol; “Share the Road” plaques; horizontal alignment/advisory speed combination signs; and “Lane Ends Merge Right” signs. These devices do not have a compliance date and should be removed with attrition. Compliance dates do apply to other updates, however—see the MN MUTCD for more information.
Designs, shapes, and other updates
Aside from what’s new and what will soon be phased out, this edition of the MN MUTCD also provides updates on the design and placement of some existing devices, such as signs and pavement markings. For example, on the blue pentagon signs used for the County State Aid Highway (CSAH) system, the white route numbers must now be yellow to match the national standard. Additionally, the white square signs that often indicate county roads can no longer be used on CSAHs. Other sign design changes include the following:
- Memorial signs: A simple message must precede the name of the person or entity being memorialized; it cannot follow the name.
- In-street pedestrian crossing signs: Language must be updated from “within crosswalk” to “in crosswalk.”
- Selective exclusion signs: Signs ending in a “prohibited” message must be updated to start with a “no” message for consistency with other selective exclusionary signs.
- MnDOT route signs: Sign border color must change from gold to yellow.
The updated MN MUTCD also reflects a few changes to the shape and positioning of existing devices, which can be just as important as the design itself. Octagon shapes are exclusive to stop signs, and to ensure that this silhouette remains recognizable, stop signs must not be fully concealed by mounting a differently shaped sign on the back—such as a square “Do Not Enter” sign, for example.
Updated standards also apply to vehicle speed feedback signs; when using these devices to display the speed of an approaching vehicle in relation to the posted speed limit, it must be on a plaque mounted below the speed limit sign. Furthermore, the plaque needs to use a black legend on a yellow retroreflective background and must not flash.
For more information and to review all of the updates, the 11th edition of the MN MUTCD is available to download on MnDOT’s website. You can also watch a recording of the webinar on MnLTAP’s website or reach out to Kautz directly at [email protected].