Toll Road Guidelines

[roadman65]

I was wondering about the rules of toll plazas as back before electronic tolling, all toll roads (except the Garden State Parkway in NJ) would have all automated toll lanes to the left side of the plaza, while keeping the staffed collectors to the right of the plaza.  The Garden State Parkway for some reason did not want to follow suit on this one as they would scatter the attended toll lanes throughout their plazas, however they did use a steady green toll lane signal  over the full service lanes while the coin drops all featured a blinking green signals.

I was wondering if there is something in either suggested protocol or in the MUTCD that states how plazas need to conform.  Plus, is the Garden State Parkway the only toll road to use steady and flashing green lights over toll lanes as well as the latest which has the GSP using yellow flashers to designate the EZ Pass lanes in addition to their tradition of signal use.

[roadman]

Chapter 2F of the 2009 MUTCD contains standards for toll road signing.  Chapter 2F was developed as a result of the 2004 crash at the Hampshire-Marengo toll plaza on the Illinois Tollway (I-90, aka the Gomez Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) - see https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2006/HAR0603.pdf .  Most of this information was originally contained in a 2006 FHWA document on traffic control strategies for toll plazas - see  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/rpt/tcstoll/ .  Whlie the 2009 MUTCD figures imply that the ETC only and/or automatic (coins) lanes should be on the left side of the plaza, and the full service (staffed) lanes should be on the right side, this is not explicitly stated anywhere in the standards or guidance contained in Chapter 2F.  However, the issue of consistent lane placement was addressed somewhat in the 2006 document.

Per section 2F.17, toll agencies are now required to use lane use control signals instead of conventional traffic signals for non-ETC only lanes at plazas, and can use yellow flashers (only) to supplement signs for ETC-only lanes at plazas.

[Brandon]

^^ At the time of the accident, there were no dedicated I-Pass lanes at the Hampshire-Marengo Plaza.  All lanes, both automatic and manual could (and still do) accept them.  The lanes were split, as any other ISTHA toll plaza since the 1950s into automatic (coin baskets) on the left and manual (attendants) on the right.  This has since changed as the automatic lanes were phased out and the dedicated I-Pass lanes phased in on all mainline toll plazas with I-Pass to the left and attendants to the right.

[1995hoo]

Are there any kind of standards as to how far a mainline toll barrier should be from an interchange? Every time I drive west on the Bee Line (Florida Route 528) I find myself thinking how the second toll plaza feels like it's located a bit too close to the interchange with Route 417 because of how the slower cash-payers who want to stay on the Bee Line have to accelerate back up to highway speed and move left just as the higher-speed SunPass users wishing to exit have to move right. It seems suboptimal. I'm sure, of course, the toll plaza was there prior to the SunPass era and that the ORT lanes are a more recent rebuild, so even if there were a standard I wouldn't be surprised if it were grandfathered. I just wonder about it every time I go through there.

Regarding lane placement, I've always assumed one issue on the Garden State Parkway may be proximity to interchanges. That is, putting the toll machine coin-drop lanes on the far left may not be desirable if there's an interchange soon after the toll plaza.

I wish the flashing yellow light were more common outside the Northeast when the ETC lane uses a toll plaza lane. It's easier to look for the flashing yellow light than it is to seek out a sign in an area that often has a lot of signage.

[Brian556]

I've always disliked standard traffic signals at toll plazas. I was thinking this again while in Florida recently. It makes no sense to display a steady green light (which means go) at a toll booth where you have to stop to pay the toll.

I've always thought that lane control signals would be a much better choice.

Recently, when I approached a toll booth on Osceola Pkwy in Orlando, the only lane with a green light was the ez-pass lane, which was useless to me, since I didn't have one. I went through it anyway, and haven't got a bill. I'm assuming this situation was caused by toll collector error.

[roadman]

^^ At the time of the accident, there were no dedicated I-Pass lanes at the Hampshire-Marengo Plaza.  All lanes, both automatic and manual could (and still do) accept them.  The lanes were split, as any other ISTHA toll plaza since the 1950s into automatic (coin baskets) on the left and manual (attendants) on the right.  This has since changed as the automatic lanes were phased out and the dedicated I-Pass lanes phased in on all mainline toll plazas with I-Pass to the left and attendants to the right.

You are correct Brandon.  The 2009 MUTCD figures are applicable to either ETC or automatic (coins) lanes - I've clarified my original post to reflect this.

[Brandon]

I've always disliked standard traffic signals at toll plazas. I was thinking this again while in Florida recently. It makes no sense to display a steady green light (which means go) at a toll booth where you have to stop to pay the toll.

I've always thought that lane control signals would be a much better choice.

Recently, when I approached a toll booth on Osceola Pkwy in Orlando, the only lane with a green light was the ez-pass lane, which was useless to me, since I didn't have one. I went through it anyway, and haven't got a bill. I'm assuming this situation was caused by toll collector error.

I haven't seen normal (r-y-g) or even red/green signals for a while at a toll plaza.

The current ISTHA setup is a green arrow or red X over a non-ORT lane, and a red "STOP" and green "THANK YOU" at lanes that accept cash.  All lanes on ramps and mainline cash lanes get yellow and blue lights for I-Pass accounts.  Blue - toll paid; blue and yellow - account low; yellow - insufficient funds in account.

Red X and green arrow for I-Pass and cash lanes at the Boughton Road Plaza on I-355.

Blue and yellow lights at the Boughton Road Plaza on I-355.

Stop and Thank You lights at the 75th Street Ramp Plaza on I-355.

Coin Basket.  These used to be the "automatic" lanes prior to the modern ORT system.  Joliet Road Plaza on I-294.  Interestingly, the I-Pass lanes are to the left and right of the automatic lanes for both directions.  To I-55.  To I-294 North.

[vdeane]

I haven't seen normal (r-y-g) or even red/green signals for a while at a toll plaza.

Go drive on the Thruway.  We still have them.  While there are a couple experiments (http://www.nysroads.com/photos.php?route=i90&state=NY&file=100_8840.JPG), it's predominantly traffic lights.

[roadman65]

Here is one with only three lanes and works out well for distributing lane placement.

[realjd]

Are there any kind of standards as to how far a mainline toll barrier should be from an interchange? Every time I drive west on the Bee Line (Florida Route 528) I find myself thinking how the second toll plaza feels like it's located a bit too close to the interchange with Route 417 because of how the slower cash-payers who want to stay on the Bee Line have to accelerate back up to highway speed and move left just as the higher-speed SunPass users wishing to exit have to move right. It seems suboptimal. I'm sure, of course, the toll plaza was there prior to the SunPass era and that the ORT lanes are a more recent rebuild, so even if there were a standard I wouldn't be surprised if it were grandfathered. I just wonder about it every time I go through there.

Regarding lane placement, I've always assumed one issue on the Garden State Parkway may be proximity to interchanges. That is, putting the toll machine coin-drop lanes on the far left may not be desirable if there's an interchange soon after the toll plaza.

They're fixing that by eliminating that toll plaza and collecting that toll at the FDOT plaza just west of there.

I wish the flashing yellow light were more common outside the Northeast when the ETC lane uses a toll plaza lane. It's easier to look for the flashing yellow light than it is to seek out a sign in an area that often has a lot of signage.

In practice that one doesn't seem to have many problems, although the unsigned westbound lane drop does cause confusion. The one that is annoying is the one just west of the airport. Heading east on the 528, if you use Sunpass and try to get to the airport you have to cut across several lanes of traffic very quickly.

[jeffandnicole]

For those unfamiliar with the toll plaza concept, any light confuses anyone.  What some people take for granted (red = closed, green = open) is a foreign concept.  Some people will see an empty lane, roll up, and will be confused why no one is in the booth.  They didn't care - or even see - that the lane had a red light/red X.  Some will even argue that the light just turned red...even though the lane had been unused all day.  Some others will simply follow everyone else - if 6 people are in an open lane, and no one is in the open lane next to them, they will stay in the lane everyone else is in.  If one person moves over, or suddenly someone comes down the highway and uses the open, empty lane, you'll see 3 people merge over into that lane suddenly.

Really interesting on a psychological front, really. 

Thus, between the flashing green, flashing yellow, steady yellow, and steady green, etc, while different agencies use different methods to signifies the lane usage, the important factor comes down to signage more often than not.