14-016 Code Vt. R. 14-054-016-X

Current through August, 2024

Section 14 054 016 - RULE NO. 16: SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDE SIGNS ON LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAYS

PREFACE Supplemental Guide Signs on limited access facilities shall conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Signs and Devices adopted under Title 23 V.S.A. Section 1025, and shall follow the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) "Guidelines for the Selection of Supplemental Guide Signs for Traffic Generators Adjacent to Freeways" as closely as possible.

Section I

Only one supplemental guide sign may be on each interchange approach, unless a greater number is permitted by law. If used, it is normally installed as an independent guide assembly and shall contain no more than two names each, unless a greater number is permitted by law.

Section II

Pursuant to Title 10 V.S.A. Section 494(13), the Travel Information Council hereby establishes the following criteria and priorities for the selection of facilities to be named on "Supplemental Guide Signs" on limited access highways, and establishes the process by which sign applications are reviewed and approved.

Priority No.

1. Towns and cities which are also accessible at the particular exit but which are not named on the primary guide sign shall receive first priority for space on the Supplemental Guide Signs. These shall be determined by the Agency of Transportation Traffic and Safety Division.

Priority No.

2. International Airports shall receive second priority for space on the Supplemental Guide Signs.

Priority No.

3. If space remains unused on the Supplemental Guide Sign, after signing towns, cities and international airports, that space shall be used to identify facilities selected according to the applicable statutes and factors listed below so travelers are best directed to their destination in the safest possible manner with the least number of signs.

Where two or more eligible facilities compete for the same space, the Travel Information Council shall approve a facility after considering the following factors:

- one facility has a greater number of annual visitors than the other facility;

- the removal of the name of a facility from an existing sign would tend to cause confusion to the traveling public as to the continued existence of that facility;

- one of the facilities is difficult to locate;

- whether one facility better serves as a drawing attraction to an area;

- a facility is eligible under more than one of the following categories; nonprofit museum, nonprofit diploma granting educational institution for the language delayed, post-secondary educational institution, major tourist attraction, or point of scenic, historic, cultural, agricultural or religious interest.

A visitor is defined as a non-habitual user of an eligible facility or person not familiar with the area. This definition excludes, but the exclusion is not limited to:

- full-time/part-time employees and volunteers;

- regular delivery or service persons;

- habitual users of an eligible facility or persons familiar with the area who are members, season pass-holders, or students of the applicant/facility; and

- customers who solely use a facility's restaurant or retail establishment.

Facilities will outline in their application the method used to determine the number of visitors. The Travel Information Council shall approve the method used to count visitors. All visitor counts shall be subject to verification.

Section III General Requirements and Limitations

A. Names of facilities which have been chosen according to the factors as set forth in Part II of this Rule will be placed on supplemental guides signs. However, signing for such facilities is considered supplemental to the overall signing system. Therefore, before a sign for a chosen facility is installed, sufficient space must exist to accommodate the placement of the sign without interfering or conflicting with required signing.

B. Supplemental guide signs for traffic generating facilities will not be installed at freeway-to-freeway interchanges.

C. Not more than one supplemental guide sign for a traffic generator will be provided in each direction for any one facility along any limited access highway.

D. Signs for these facilities shall be located in advance of an interchanging road which provides a direct route to the facility.

E. Signing for a facility should not be displayed on a supplemental guide sign until signing has been installed at the ramp terminals (green and white destination signing and along the intersection roads and other roads (Official Business Direction Signs) as necessary to direct the motorist from the limited access highway to the traffic generating facility.

F. The facility may be required to apply and pay for Official Business Directional Signs that are necessary to direct travelers leaving the limited access facility and must agree to continue to pay for them as long as the Supplemental Guide Sign is in place.

G. If a facility named on the Supplemental Guide Sign is closed for a period exceeding 14 days, then some indication of this closing should be added to the sign on the main line of the limited access highway. This expense shall be borne by the named facility.

H. Copy on the Supplemental Guide Signs will be limited to the legal name of the business or facility, which has been registered with the Secretary of State as a corporation, trade name or trade mark, or an appropriate abbreviation acceptable to the applicant, unless a generic name is used which serves more than one facility at that exit.

Section IV Specific Requirements

A. The eligible facilities shall meet the following requirements:

1. All facilities shall be registered to do business in the State with the Secretary of State's Office and must be in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules or regulations.

2. Post-secondary educational institutions shall:

a. have a minimum student population of 500 full and part-time students.

b. grant a degree.

c. be approved by the Vermont State Board of Education.

d. Not be entitled to signs for extensions or offices of a larger educational institution.

e. be located within 15 miles of the interstate exit at which the sign is requested.

f. reimburse the Agency of Transportation for its share of the actual costs of fabrication and installation and maintenance.

3. Museums and diploma-granting educational institutions for the language delayed (as required by 10 V.S.A. Section 494(6) ) shall:

a. be nonprofit.

b. be open a minimum of 120 days each year;

c. Shall be located within 15 miles of an interstate highway exit; and

d. reimburse the Agency of Transportation for the actual costs of fabrication and installation and maintenance.

4. Major tourist attractions, points of scenic, historic, cultural, agricultural or religious interest (as required by Title 10 V.S.A. Section 494(13) ) must:

a. attract more than 25,000 visitors per year if located within five miles of an interstate exit, or if located more than five miles, must attract an additional 1,000 visitors per year for each mile over the five miles.

b. maintain on-site an area of not less than 65 square feet for the exclusive purpose of disseminating information about and guidance to travelers to tourist attractions and points of scenic, historic, cultural, agricultural, educational or religious interest;

c. reimburse the Agency of Transportation for the actual costs of fabrication, installation and maintenance.

B. In addition to the foregoing requirements:

1. Major Tourist Attractions shall:

a. be open at least 120 days a year;

b. not be events or temporary functions;

c. be considered a major tourist attraction by the Vermont Dept. of Travel and Tourism.

2. Points of scenic, historic, cultural, agricultural or religious interest shall:

a. be open at least 120 days a year;

b. be located within 5 miles of an interchange;

c. Points of scenic and historic interest shall be limited to State and National Parks, Forests and Historic Sites, or those which are shown as points of interest on the Official State Highway Map published by the Vermont Department of Travel and Tourism.

d. Points of Cultural and Religious interest shall be limited to facilities that have considerable historical significance and which are shown as points of interest on the Official State Highway Map published by the Vermont Department of Travel and Tourism.

Section V Application Process - Initial installation

A. By January 1 of each year, the Traffic and Safety D ivision of the Agency of Transportation shall receive all applications for supplemental guide signs and present to the Travel Information Council, at its next meeting, all applications received for supplemental guide signs at an interchange of the State's limited access highways. For the purposes of these Rules, the limited access highways shall include Interstates 89, 91, 93 and 189 as well as Vermont highway 289 and the limited access portions of US 4 and US 7 which do not have Official Business Directional Signs on them.

B. The Traffic and Safety Division of the Agency of Transportation shall make an annual recommendation at the first regular meeting following January 1 to the Travel Information Council with respect to supplemental guide signs for towns and cities and other geographic names at each exit.

C. Public notice shall be given of any available space during October of each year and such notice shall contain a deadline for receiving applications for such space.

D. The Traffic and Safety Division of the Agency of Transportation shall provide the Travel Information Council with its estimate of the actual costs of fabrication and installation for the supplemental guide signs at the first regular meeting following October 1 of each year.

E. Facilities applying for supplemental guide signs shall submit a check to reimburse the Agency of Transportation for its share of the estimated actual cost of fabrication and installation, as such cost was established pursuant to section D by the deadline specified in the public notice. The deadline shall be at least 30 days after date of public notice. Applications will be reviewed by Travel Information Council staff and when appropriate, by the Department of Travel and Tourism, and eligibility and space availability confirmed or denied by the Travel Information Council.

F. The Travel Information Council shall act on all applications no later than March 31 of each year and shall make every effort to dispose of all applications by the last day of February.

G. Upon favorable action by the Travel Information Council, signs shall be ordered via the Traffic and Safety Division of the Agency of Transportation. The Agency of Transportation may contract for all or part of its responsibilities under these Rules.

H. If the Traffic and Safety Division of the Agency of Transportation is unable to erect a new sign by August 31 of the year in which such sign was approved, it shall inform the Travel Information Council of the reasons for this inability as soon as those conditions become evident. Any deposit money submitted under Section V, Subsection E of this Rule shall be refunded no later than August 31 for any sign that has not been installed by that date, or will not be installed for the next thirty days. After such funds have been refunded, those funds can then be requested again, thirty days before anticipated installation, as a condition of installation.

Section VI Minimum Period of Sign Placement

Once the name of a facility is placed upon a supplemental guide sign, it shall not be removed for a period of five years from the date of final acceptance by the Agency of Transportation of the contract providing for the fabrication and installation of such signs except as provided in this section. The name of an approved facility may be removed for the following reasons:

(1) if the facility named has ceased its operation during that period;

(2) if the facility named is in default of payments obligated to the Agency of Transportation with respect to the supplemental guide sign program; or,

(3) if the facility does not comply with applicable federal, state and local laws, rules or regulations. If the Travel Information Council votes to remove a name from a sign, the Traffic and Safety Division of the Agency of Transportation shall remove it.

14-016 Code Vt. R. 14-054-016-X

Effective Date: April 15, 1994 (Secretary of State Rule Log # 94-13)
AMENDED: September 15, 1995 (Secretary of State Rule Log # 95-52)

AUTHORITY: 10 V.S.A. § 494