How To Create Your Sign Plan

Sample road sign

The family of roadway signs designed for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail creates a unique opportunity for visitors. The signs help them find roads, trail segments, and sites where history was created. The brown background alerts travelers that there's an opportunity to explore the history ahead. The logo brands the signs as places on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. We hope you agree and that you will partner with the National Park Service (NPS) to help travelers find the national historic trail and explore our shared heritage! This web page is designed to assist you in doing just that. Try it and call us with any questions.

NEW! Steps to Road Signing (183 KB pdf)

Welcome to the NPS National Trails Intermountain Region (NTIR) sign plan template. This page will allow you to use a simple Google Earth KMZ-based format and position custom "placemark" icons within Google Earth to create your own sign plan for any given area of the national historic trail. We suggest using logical political jurisdictions such as city or county limits.

The sign plan template addresses the use of road signs. It is not for interpretive exhibits or pedestrian signs. (Contact us if you are interested in pedestrian trail signing needs. Carsonite post versions of many standard national historic trail hiking and pedestrian signs have been developed.)

The signs in your sign plan will all be on public roads except for site identification - entrance signs. For site identification - entrance signs, each site owner will need to work directly with NTIR staff as these signs tend to be custom.

The sign plan is the first step toward signing the trail and working with NTIR staff and others who may have jurisdiction over road sections. Sign plans developed using this template will primarily be used by trail association members and other trail partners. You will need to contact the NTIR before you begin so we are aware of your efforts and so we can work together in signing the trail.

 

Please note that use of these signs requires explicit approval by NTIR, because the signs include the federally protected Trail of Tears National Historic Trail logo.

 

 

As you begin, it is important to review the national historic trail family of signs and to understand the various sign types and how they are used. Once you have reviewed the sign types, you will be ready to create a sign plan. Keep in mind that signing will usually be in both directions of traffic so the signs are usually paired.

In order to implement your sign plan, it will be necessary to get approval from each road jurisdiction for all roads to be signed. To help facilitate approvals, complete the sign plan first and have it reviewed by the NTIR office. Download the sign agreement form here and have one signed by each (non-state) jurisdiction (90 KB Word). For signs on state department of transportation roads, use this form (96.5 KB Word). Signed forms should be sent to NTIR.

 

A Note About Sign Sizes and Reflective Quality

The national historic trail standard road sign size recommendation is 32 inches by 48 inches, except the Historic Site Name sign; it's generally 36 inches by 48 inches to accommodate the variety of potential site names.

Some signs have a secondary lower sign panel or arrows (refer to road signs in table below):

• The standard arrow is a 12-inch by 12-inch panel.
• The NEXT XX MILES lower sign panel is 16 inches by 32 inches.
• The BEGIN, END, ON LEFT, and ON RIGHT lower sign panels are 12 inches by 32 inches.

These signs are sized for low speed roads to accommodate a 4-inch minimum letter height in compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is the primary guidance that governs all public roads in the United States. Conditions could exist in which local road jurisdiction may require a smaller or larger size sign. A larger sign will most likely be required for higher speed roads. Ultimately, the agency having jurisdiction over the road has the responsibility for providing direction on the size of the signs required.

They may also dictate the quality of reflective sheeting required for the signs, i.e. engineering or high intensity grade.

A Note About Sign Funding

Implementation of your sign plan will require finding funding to purchase the signs and installation hardware, and for labor costs associated with installation.

Considerations:

• Sometimes the local jurisdiction will agree to provide the labor to install the signs, but they may or may not be able to provide the posts and hardware.
• Sometimes it may be necessary to contract for the fabrication with someone other than the sign supplier used by the NPS.
• Sometimes local jurisdictions have a sign shop capable of producing the signs to the sign standard specifications.
• You may also want to consider funding sources that exist with the local jurisdiction or state.
• Larger signs considered for high speed roadways or interstates could cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

It is important to coordinate early with trail partners and NTIR to consider funding availability and options. Having a sign plan in place should facilitate funding.

 

General Sign Types - How to Understand and Use Them

Auto Tour Route	Original Route NEXT XX MILES
Local Tour Route	Original Route BEGIN
Crossing	Original Route END
To Original Route	Historic Site Name
Original Route	Site Identification - Entrance

 

Using Google Earth To Create Your Sign Plan

Google Earth combines satellite imagery and maps to help you see the world and beyond. The product is designed for use on newer computers with broadband or fast connections.

If you do not already have Google Earth on your computer, download the free Google Earth software from this link now:

http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

 

Copyright Google Earth 2010

Review these instructions. Once you complete this step in the process, you can click on the Google Earth icon (below) and make a sign plan with the KMZ file. It will help to have the instructions printed.

1. Double click the KMZ file. Select Open. Google Earth will open up and a file folder will appear in your Google Earth temporary places folders on the left side of the screen.
2. Rename the My Sign Plan folder with your sign plan name.
3. There are two ways that you can place the national trails sign icons in the Placemark dialogue box. Right click each sign icon on your Google Earth screen and select Properties. An Edit Placemark dialogue box will open. In the Edit Placemark menu, click on the sign icon on the top right. The sign icon will now appear in your custom icons menu of placemarks.
4. OR go to each sign in the Sign Placement Custom folder on the left side of the screen. Right click on each sign and select Properties. The Edit Placemark dialogue box will open. In the Edit Placemark menu, click on the sign icon on the top right. The sign icon will now appear in your custom icons menu of placemarks.

 

You have now loaded all the national historic trail standard sign symbols in the custom icons menu. You are ready to use them to add placemarks from the Add Placemark Button at the top of the Google Earth page. (While the default placemark is a yellow push pin, you will be using the sign symbols provided). Review the sign types to ensure you are using the correct type of sign at your location. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind:

• When you create a folder name for your sign plan, use a name that describes the area of the national historic trail for which you are creating the sign plan, i.e. TRTE is the 4-letter trail acronym for Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, so an example might be: TRTE-Mickey Mouse County MO or TRTE-Donald Duck Road to Cinderella Highway.
• Place all your work in the sign plan folder you have named. Be sure all of the sign icons you just downloaded are in this folder.
• Adding lines: Go to the top of the Google page, click on Add, and select Path to create lines. Lines can show, for example, the stretches of original trail route on existing roads. All paths should also be in your sign plan folder.
• Each sign at 32 x 48 inches cost about $150.00. To keep costs down, limit the number of signs to what is needed.
• Zoom in as close as possible to find the correct location to position the placemark where you want your sign installed. At a minimum, zoom in enough to place the sign on the correct side of the road or intersection. This will provide more accurate geographic coordinates for the sign location. Keep in mind sign needs for traffic in each direction. Are signs needed on each side of the road? (Usually this is the case)
• Original Route signs can be placed just past intersections on 2-lane roads so that drivers know that the original route is across an intersection. This allows for the placement of a sign without having to add directional arrows.

SAVING YOUR SIGN PLAN FILE:

• When you are finished locating all the signs, right click on the named sign plan folder, i.e. the sign plan folder on the left side of the screen where the layers and folders are located (be sure you do not highlight just one of the icons). When you right click on the sign plan folder, there are options to Save Place As to save the folder as a KMZ, or to send to Email. You can also highlight the folder and go to the top of the Google Earth page, select File, Save, Save Place As. Once you save the file as a KMZ, you may then attach it and email it. Or go to File, Email to send directly from Google Earth. Email the KMZ file to a staff member in the NPS NTIR to begin the effort to implement your sign plan.

 

Now that you have downloaded Google Earth and reviewed the instructions, you can open the KMZ file. Click on the Google Earth icon (left) or KMZ file (below).

CREATE A SIGN PLAN TEMPLATE KMZ FILE

NOTE: When you open the sign plan template KMZ file, the line that represents the trail route will disappear when you zoom to higher resolution. In order to access the trail line data at greater resolution, you will need to contact us at the National Trails Intermountain Region (NTIR). Once you have reviewed your sign project with NTIR staff and signed a nondisclosure agreement, you will receive the detailed trail alignment data KMZ file for your area of interest. You will then be able to see the trail route when zooming in at a higher resolution. This will be necessary to locate original route signing.

 

Thanks for helping to sign and to make visible the national historic trail in your area.

Steve Burns
Landscape Architect
National Park Service
National Trails Intermountain Region
P.O. Box 728
Santa Fe NM 87504
[phone]
[phone] fax
e-mail us

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*References to non-U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) products do not constitute an endorsement by the DOI.

*Other software applications can be used with KMZ files; Google Earth is just one example.