Rocky Mountain National Park Dynamic Message Sign/Highway Advisory Radio Operations Plan Prepared by Natalie Villwock-Witte, Research Engineer Jaime Eidswick, Research Engineer Zhirui Ye, Research Scientist and Stephen Albert, Director Western Transportation Institute College of Engineering Montana State University Prepared for Rocky Mountain National Park Central Federal Lands Highway Division July 2011 ROMO DMS/HAR Operations Plan Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv Glossary of Abbreviations ...............................................................................................................v 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................6 1.1. Background ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.2. Goals, Objectives, and Performance Measures .............................................................. 10 1.3. Project Overview ............................................................................................................ 13 2. Operational Guidelines ..........................................................................................................17 2.1. Conditions for Use ......................................................................................................... 17 2.2. Coordination and Deployment ....................................................................................... 17 2.3. Personnel and Responsibilities ....................................................................................... 17 2.4. Site Locations ................................................................................................................. 22 2.5. Message Display and Broadcast ..................................................................................... 32 2.6. Documenting and Logging Messages ............................................................................ 37 2.7. Deactivating Systems and Relocation ............................................................................ 37 3. Maintenance Guidelines .........................................................................................................38 3.1. Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................................. 38 3.2. Maintenance of DMS ..................................................................................................... 38 3.3. Maintenance of HAR ..................................................................................................... 38 3.4. Contact Information ....................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX A: OVERALL CONTACT INFORMATION ..........................................................40 APPENDIX B: LOG FORMS .......................................................................................................42 APPENDIX C: CANDIDATE LOCATION ANALYSIS ............................................................45 APPENDIX D: GUIDELINES ON PLACEMENT ......................................................................52 D.1 Guidelines on Placement ................................................................................................ 52 References ......................................................................................................................................57 Cover Photo – A view from Flattop Mountain Trail (Photo courtesy Kevin Witte.) Western Transportation Institute Page ii ROMO DMS/HAR Operations Plan List of Tables LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Goal One ......................................................................................................................... 11 Table 2: Goal Two ........................................................................................................................ 11 Table 3: Goal Three ...................................................................................................................... 11 Table 4: Goal Four ........................................................................................................................ 12 Table 5: Goal Five ........................................................................................................................ 12 Table 6: Goal Six .......................................................................................................................... 12 Table 7: Goal Seven ...................................................................................................................... 12 Table 8: Goal Eight ....................................................................................................................... 13 Western Transportation Institute Page iii ROMO DMS/HAR Operations Plan List of Figures LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Front Range Visitors (3) .................................................................................................. 6 Figure 2: Bear Lake Trailhead Parking Lot, 2/19/2011, about 2pm ............................................... 7 Figure 3: Bear Lake Corridor (3) .................................................................................................... 8 Figure 4: Hiker Shuttle Route (8) ................................................................................................... 9 Figure 5: Town of Estes Park Shuttles (8) .................................................................................... 10 Figure 6: DMS & HAR Locations (3) .......................................................................................... 14 Figure 7: Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) Trailer ...................................................................... 15 Figure 8: Portable Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) ...................................................................... 15 Figure 9: ITS Implementation Timeline ....................................................................................... 16 Figure 10: Execution of DMS/HAR Operations Plan................................................................... 21 Figure 11: Site Locations on SR 66/US 36 (3) ............................................................................. 22 Figure 12: Location 1, Lyons (6) .................................................................................................. 23 Figure 13: SR 66 DMS Location, Overview (6) ........................................................................... 24 Figure 14: SR 66 DMS Location, Elevation ................................................................................. 25 Figure 15: US 36 DMS and SR 66 HAR Location, Overview (6) ............................................... 26 Figure 16: US 36 DMS Location, Elevation ................................................................................. 27 Figure 17: Location 1, HAR, Elevation ........................................................................................ 28 Figure 18: Location 2, DMS and HAR around Pinyon Trail (6) .................................................. 29 Figure 19: Location 2, DMS Elevation ......................................................................................... 30 Figure 20: Location 2, HAR Elevation ......................................................................................... 31 Figure 21: Location 3, DMS Overview (6) ................................................................................... 32 Figure 22: Alternative Option, Pinewood Springs (6) .................................................................. 45 Figure 23: Southbound on US 36, leaving Pinewood Springs ..................................................... 46 Figure 24: Estes Park, Park and Ride Access Via 4th Street (6) ................................................... 47 Figure 25: Proposed 4th Street DMS Location Topography ......................................................... 48 Figure 26: Secondary HAR Location in Lyons (6) ....................................................................... 49 Figure 27: DMS Location, West End of Lyons (6) ...................................................................... 50 Figure 28: Rock Wall Leaving Lyons ........................................................................................... 51 Western Transportation Institute Page iv ROMO DMS/HAR Operations Plan Glossary of Abbreviations GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AADT Average Annual Daily Traffic CDOT Colorado Department of Transportation CO2 Carbon Dioxide DMS Dynamic Message Sign FCC Federal Communications Commission FHWA Federal Highway Administration CFLHD Central Federal Lands Highway Division HAR Highway Advisory Radio ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems MUTCD Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices ROMO Rocky Mountain National Park SR State Road TRIPTAC Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center WTI Western Transportation Institute Western Transportation Institute Page v ROMO DMS/HAR Operations Plan Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background Visitation to Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) has remained consistent over the last few years, with approximately