Home > Engineering > The School Zone >

School Advance Warning Signs and School Crosswalk Signs

 

The MUTCD specifies that school advance warning signs should be used in advance of locations where school buildings or grounds are adjacent to the highway and the advance warning sign shall be used in advance of any installation of the school crosswalk warning sign or in advance of the first installation of the school speed limit sign. For the school crosswalk signs, the MUTCD specifies that the signs, if used, shall be used in conjunction with a school advance warning sign and installed at the marked crosswalk, or as close to it as possible, including those at signalized locations used by students going to and from school, and shall have a diagonal downward pointing arrow identifying the location of the crosswalk. School crosswalk signs shall not be installed on approach controlled by a stop sign nor shall they be used at marked crosswalks other than those adjacent to schools and those on established school pedestrian routes.[4]

Example of a school advance warning sign.

Example of a school crosswalk sign.

School advance warning and school crosswalk signs are important elements of a safe route to school. Chapter 7 in the 2003 edition of the MUTCD designates these signs to be used in advance of and at school crossings. The MUTCD and local and state regulations should be followed when considering installation in any area. Traffic signs, as well as pavement markings, which are symbols, stencils or legends applied to the surface of a roadway or a curb along public streets, must be installed or authorized by the local traffic authority such as the city, county or state traffic engineering department. Signs should not be overused or underused; and when installed, they need to be maintained and kept clear of tree branches and other visual obstructions.