National Academies Press: OpenBook

Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH (2012)

Chapter: Appendix B: VTA Draft Letter to FHWA Requesting Permission to Experiment with an Increase in LRV Speeds to 40 MPH through Three Ungated Crossings

« Previous: Appendix A: Summary of Crash Data at the Intersections of North First Street and Brokaw Road, Charcot Avenue, and Trimble Road
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: VTA Draft Letter to FHWA Requesting Permission to Experiment with an Increase in LRV Speeds to 40 MPH through Three Ungated Crossings." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22822.
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Page 96
Page 97
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: VTA Draft Letter to FHWA Requesting Permission to Experiment with an Increase in LRV Speeds to 40 MPH through Three Ungated Crossings." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22822.
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Page 97
Page 98
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: VTA Draft Letter to FHWA Requesting Permission to Experiment with an Increase in LRV Speeds to 40 MPH through Three Ungated Crossings." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22822.
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Page 98
Page 99
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: VTA Draft Letter to FHWA Requesting Permission to Experiment with an Increase in LRV Speeds to 40 MPH through Three Ungated Crossings." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22822.
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Page 99

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TCRP Web-Only Document 53 92 APPENDIX B: VTA DRAFT LETTER TO FHWA REQUESTING PERMISSION TO EXPERIMENT WITH AN INCREASE IN LRV SPEEDS TO 40 MPH THROUGH THREE UNGATED CROSSINGS

TCRP Web-Only Document 53 93 Mr. Hari Kalla MUTCD Team Leader Federal Highway Administration Office of Transportation Operations, HOTO-1 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Mailstop E846-302 Washington, DC 20590 Subject: Request to Experiment with Enhanced Traffic Control Devices In Lieu of Flashing-Light Signals at a Highway-Light Rail Transit Grade Crossing In Order to Increase Transit Speeds at Three Intersections Dear Mr. Kalla: The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) requests permission to use MUTCD approved enhancements using lane markings and signs in lieu of flashing-light signals on the North First St. corridor in San Jose, California at three signalized intersections. Per Section 10D.02 of the 2003 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), “Highway-light rail grade crossings in semi-exclusive alignments shall be equipped with flashing-light signals where light rail transit speeds exceed 60 km/h (35 mph). Flashing-light signals shall be clearly visible to motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.” In cooperation with a research study performed through the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), VTA would like to: 1. Increase the speed of light rail transit in the corridor through three test signalized intersections/crossings to 40 mph while using traffic control devices that are an improvement over the required traffic control devices in the MUTCD and still provide an active warning to motorists. 2. Use a blank-out sign similar to the W10-7 but including an alternating No-Left Turn indication along with the standard Train Approaching symbol to provide an active warning to motorists. TCRP Project A-32 entitled “Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH” is being conducted by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The research effort involves a risk analysis and a safety evaluation before and after the addition of the enhanced lane markings and signs as well as before and after the speed increase from 35 MPH to 40 MPH. Problem Statement Where light rail transit (LRT) operates in semi-exclusive rights-of-way, such as in the roadway median, light rail vehicles (LRVs) interface with motor vehicles at highway intersections. Where LRVs operate through these highway intersections at speeds over 35 mph, Part 10 of the (MUTCD) recommends the use of automatic gates and requires flashing lights to warn motorists of the presence of a train. Most transit agencies that operate LRT in median-running environments have found it challenging and costly to install flashing lights and automatic gates at every intersection. As a result, they operate LRVs at speeds not greater than 35 mph, even where the parallel motor vehicle traffic operates at speeds higher than 35 mph. In 2007, the TCRP sponsored a research project to document the relationship between existing traffic control requirements, LRV operating speeds through LRT-highway crossings, and safety. The results of this research suggested the need for further research that would establish a defined

TCRP Web-Only Document 53 94 risk assessment and evaluation process that might lead to conditional higher LRV running speeds at limited locations. The Subject Test Locations The subject test locations including the following light rail crossings:  North First St. & Brokaw Rd. (CPUC # 82B-1.44)  North First St. & Charcot Ave. (CPUC # 82B-1.91)  North First St. & Trimble Rd. (CPUC # 82B-2.46) Please note that the two intermediate crossings, North First St. & Karina Court (CPUC # 82B- 1.61) and North First St. and Component Drive (CPUC# 82B-2.20), at which speeds will remain the same due to the proximity of the to the Karina and Component LRT stations, respectively. Description of Proposed Change, Deviation from MUTCD, and Improvement Over the MUTCD Standard VTA is planning to add enhanced signs and markings, as illustrated in Appendix A, as part of a safety improvement effort. These enhancements include:  Installation of an alternating Train Approaching (W10-7) / No Left Hand Turn blank-out sign for parallel left-turning vehicles to signify when LRT vehicles are approaching the crossing  Relocation of existing stop bars in left-turn lanes adjacent to LRT tracks 20’ back from the crosswalk (or existing location) to enhance the visibility of an approaching LRT vehicle by left-turning traffic  Use of “KEEP CLEAR” pavement markings on left-turn lanes (between the relocated stop bar and the crosswalk / intersection) adjacent to the LRT tracks to reinforce stopping at the stop bar  Installation of yellow painted channelization pavement markings and yellow pavement markers around the tracks on the near and far sides of the intersection to guide cars to the proper lanes and avoid entering the VTA right-of-way to avoid left-turn crashes  Installation of California Type Q Markers along the tracks in the vicinity of the crossings to guide vehicles away from the tracks during left turns from both the parallel and cross- streets Research Plan Details of the research plan can be found in Appendix B, an excerpt of the TCRP A-32 amplified work plan. The research team has already collected baseline behavioral and crash data. Once the proposed enhancements (as shown above) are installed, the team will then collect another round of behavioral and crash data. Once the analysis is complete, VTA proposes to increase the speed of the LRT vehicles to 40 mph through the three test crossings for a three month period in which crash and near-miss data will be monitored to assure there are no adverse impacts of the increase in speeds. Length of Experimentation The proposed experiment is scheduled to least nine months (estimated from September to December 2010). VTA and the research team will continuously monitor crash data and other

TCRP Web-Only Document 53 95 safety data during the implementation period of the increase in speed. After the experiment, the speeds will be lowered to the original 35 mph speed. VTA is aware of the CPUC regulatory process (i.e., waiver of speed restrictions in GO 143-B). It is the goal to obtain the necessary concurrence from the CPUC and the City of San Jose. Thank you for considering this request. Please do not hesitate to call VTA should you require any further information in order to process this request. Sincerely, NAME TITLE Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Cc: Felix Ko, CPUC Rupta Shitole, CPUC Arun Mehta, CPUC Lily Lim-Tsao, City of San Jose Joel Roque, City of San Jose Michael Hursh, VTA Art Douwes, VTA Jane Yu, VTA Proposed Safety Enhancements Locations Appendix A-1 (North First St. & Brokaw) 1. VTA Letter - G.O. 88B Request (dated xxx) 2. CPUC G.O. 88B Approval Letter (dated xxx) Appendix A-2 (North First St. & Charcot) 1. VTA Letter - G.O. 88B Request (dated xxx) 2. CPUC G.O. 88B Approval Letter (dated xxx) Appendix A-2 (North First St. & Trimble) 1. VTA Letter - G.O. 88B Request (dated xxx) CPUC G.O. 88B Approval Letter (dated xxx)

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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Web-Only Document 53: Operation of Light Rail Transit through Ungated Crossings at Speeds over 35 MPH presents the findings of a micro-simulation modeling study that explored the impacts of higher light rail vehicle speeds on intersection safety.

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