Signs for Improvement
In 2023, the University of Wisconsin at Madison determined they needed to update the inventory of their roadway signs on campus. Student safety, especially at night, is of paramount importance. Cloudpoint Geospatial was subcontracted to update their roadsign inventory, which included capturing the geographic location of all their signs on both roadways and parking lots. Cloudpoint offers a complete sign inventory system using SignOps, a mobile-friendly application for tracking and managing sign assets, so it was a perfect fit.
The initial geospatial collection of the signs was conducted by Cloudpoint’s technical staff using an iPad loaded with the SignOps application. The inventory involved capturing several sign attributes, the XYZ location, and, in some cases, a photo of the sign in place.
Once the inventory was complete, the project moved to conducting retroreflectivity inspections of all the assets to help the Client target signs of poor quality for replacement. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations require all roadway signs to meet a minimum level of nighttime retroreflectivity. To meet this requirement, all signs should be measured for retroreflectivity using one of two methods:
Nighttime visual inspection
Measured sign retroreflectivity
Cloudpoint chose the first method using a two-person crew, a driver, and a passenger/inspector.
Lights on for Safety
Before conducting the roadway sign surveys, it was necessary to calibrate the vehicle headlights to ensure they were properly aimed and functioning. The inspection team carried out the headlight aiming procedures after sunset, as defined in the Federal methods manual for maintaining sign retroreflectivity. Once the headlights were properly calibrated, the inspection routes were determined, and the inspections began.
Early on, it was determined that to maintain a safe speed and route, the team would record the street signs using an iPad mounted in the vehicle. The recordings began with the inspector announcing the starting intersection to establish our point of beginning and direction of travel to provide the orientation of the vehicle.
There’s a Signpost Up Ahead!
Next, as the vehicle moved down the roadway past the signs, the inspector called out the sign type and its reflectivity condition. Federal standards require that sign reflectivity be noted as “good, fair, or poor.” At the end of a street, when the driver came to an intersection, the inspector called out any required vehicle turns and provided the name and direction of the new street to allow for a complete record of the road and camera orientation.
The entire network of campus road signs was inspected over two evenings. Vehicular and student traffic made navigation and collection challenging at times, but after driving a few roads, the team established a routine and the process went smoothly thereafter. At the end of each night, all the video recordings were backed up into cloud storage for use by the technical team back in the office.
Back-Office Data Verification and Edit
When the crew returned, they began updating the data using the SignOps software by determining the starting point, starting the video, and updating the attributes for each. Because videos could be replayed, sign locations from the previous inventory work were verified and accounted for.
The campus sign inventory project was a good example of how Cloudpoint and SignOps can efficiently and accurately collect sign assets for any campus or municipality. The resulting inventory will keep students, faculty, and residents safer around campus for years to come.
For more information about Cloudpoint Geospatial services or the SignOps application, contact us at: https://cloudpointgeo.com/contact