HRSR WORKSESSION 01-05-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• ``■ Celebrating 90 Years MEMO Howard R.Green Company To: Terry Maurer, City Engineer From: Steve Manhart, Project Manager/Sr. Traffic Engineer Subject: Pedestrian Countdown Timers Date: November 24, 2003 You had requested information regarding pedestrian countdown timers on traffic signals. You had inquired about the application of such timers and their potential use at the intersection of TH 10 and Jackson Avenue in Elk River, Minnesota. Today, I called Steve Misgen, a Signal Design Engineer in Mn/DOT's Waters Edge Building. I asked him about Mn/DOT's latest policy regarding countdown timers. He said that Mn/DOT does not currently authorize the installation of countdown timers. This is because countdown timers are not officially accepted in the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Nevertheless, the upcoming update of the MUTCD will recognize countdown timers. Therefore, Mn/DOT is not officially sanctioning the installation of countdown timers until such time as the federal MUCTD update has been adopted, which may be later this year. Steve went on to say that if the City of Elk River were intent on installing countdown timers, they should write a letter to Mn/DOT District 3 traffic personnel describing the situation and the proposed use of the timers. Steve added that the District 3 traffic personnel may not be as restrictive as the Mn/DOT Metro staff is, and may allow use of the countdown timers now. He said that the cost of the countdown timers is approximately $750 per head. Therefore, the cost of furnishing countdown timers for a complete intersection would be approximately $6000 plus labor. Steve thought that as long as the proper countdown timers were used to retrofit the existing pedestrian head, labor would not be a significant effort. As a result, a qualified technician could complete the installation for the entire intersection in a day or less. Furthermore, because the countdown timers are typically triggered by the "don't walk" phase, there is no wiring required back to the controller cabinet, thus making the installation less complicated. Therefore, assuming an installation cost of $2000 ($250 per pedestrian signal head), the total construction cost to furnish and install the countdown timers would be approximately $8000. These costs could be higher depending on type of existing pedestrian head to be retrofitted, and by actual installation costs. Cc: C:\Documents and Settings\swind\LLocaISettings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK4F\MEM 112403 timers.doc