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 Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)
 R918. Transportation, Operations, Maintenance
 R918-7. Highway Sponsorship Programs
 

  R918-7. Highway Sponsorship Programs

R918-7-1. Authority
Latest version.

  This rule is authorized by Utah Code Section 72-6-403 and is promulgated pursuant to Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act and Transportation Code Section 72-1-201.
R918-7-2. Purpose and Background
Latest version.

  Sections 72-6-401, 72-6-402, and 72-6-403 enact the "Highway Sponsorship Programs", and define the parameters around which sponsorship programs may be operated by the Department. Section 72-6-403 directs the Department to make and enforce rules governing certain aspects of such programs. Sponsorship programs allow for private sponsorship of Department operational activities, facilities or highway-related services and programs. The purpose of the sponsorship of a roadside facility or traveler service program is to provide a product, service, or monetary contribution which will generate an ongoing revenue stream or cost savings to support the operation and maintenance of the Department's network of roadside facilities and/or of its traveler service programs.
R918-7-3. Definitions
Latest version.

  (1) "Acknowledgement plaque" means a plaque that is intended only to inform the traveling public that a highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution has been sponsored by a person, firm, or entity. Acknowledgment plaques are installed only in the same sign assembly below a primary sign that provides the road user specific information on accessing the service being sponsored. Consistent with the MUTCD, a plaque legend is displayed on a separate substrate from that of the sign below which it is mounted.

  (2) "Acknowledgement Sign" has the same meaning as defined in Section 72-6-402.

  (3) "Advertisement/advertising sign" means a sign or other device that promotes commercial products or services through slogans, information on where to obtain the products and services, or other means.

  (4) "Department" and "UDOT" both mean the Utah Department of Transportation.

  (5) "Facility within a Rest Area" means an enclosed building, or freestanding bulletin board or partial enclosure within a Rest Area or Welcome Center, constructed by the Department for the purpose of providing specific information to the motorist as to services, places of interest within the State and other such information as the Department may consider desirable. This definition is intended to be consistent with 23 C.F.R. 752.7, which is hereby incorporated and made a part of this Rule R918-7-3(5).

  (6) "FHWA" means the Federal Highway Administration

  (7) "Legend" has the same meaning as in the MUTCD.

  (8) "Main Traveled Way" means the portion of the roadway for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of the shoulders, ramps, berms, sidewalks, and parking lanes.

  (9) "MUTCD" means the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, most recent edition as adopted by the Department in accordance with Section 41-6a-301, and Utah Administrative Rule R920-1, commonly called the Utah MUTCD.

  (10) "Recipient agency" means an organization that directly receives the highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution from the sponsor entity. The recipient agency might be the Department, or a contractor engaged by the Department to administer the highway-related service and/or manage the sponsorship program.

  (11) "Roadside Facility" means a facility constructed to support the highway system. Examples include Rest Areas, Welcome Centers, View Areas, Scenic Overlooks, Ports of Entry, Chain-Up Areas, etc.

  (12) "RWIS" means Road Weather Information System.

  (13) "Sponsor" means a person, firm, or entity that provides a monetary contribution, or highway-related service or product, to the recipient agency, in return for recognition in some form for doing so (such as logo display on an acknowledgement sign or plaque).

  (14) "Sponsorship agreement" has the same meaning as defined in Section 72-6-402.

  (15) "Sponsorship program" means a program that allows a person, a firm, or an entity to sponsor an element of the Department's highway operation through the provision of highway-related services, products, or monetary contributions.

  (16) "Traveler Service Programs" means systems developed to support the collection, analysis, and distribution of information about UDOT's highway network, or programs used to positively impact traffic operations and maintenance. These include systems such as UDOT's Internet web pages, UDOT Traffic Mobile Application (UDOT Traffic App), Traveler Information 511 System, Express Lanes, Zero Fatalities, and others.

  (17) "Visible" means the sign legend is capable of being seen by the viewer from the main traveled way
R918-7-4. Allowable Sponsorship Programs
Latest version.

  (1) The following elements of the Department's operation are eligible for sponsorship:

  (a) Roadside Facilities, physical facilities directly adjacent to highway infrastructure including:

  (i) Rest Areas,

  (ii) Welcome Centers,

  (iii) View Areas,

  (iv) Scenic Overlooks,

  (v) Ports of Entry,

  (vi) Chain-Up Areas, and

  (vii) Runaway Truck ramps;

  (b) Litter control;

  (c) Traveler services, including:

  (i) 511 Traveler Information system,

  (ii) UDOT Traffic App,

  (iii) UDOT Web Site,

  (iv) RWIS stations,

  (v) Traffic cameras; and

  (vi) Express Lanes;

  (d) Safety programs, including:

  (i) Zero Fatalities,

  (ii) Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP),

  (iii) Bicycle Safety,

  (iv) Truck Safety;

  (e) Other programs that positively impact traffic operations and maintenance.
R918-7-5. Acknowledgement Signs and Plaques - Size, Placement, and Content Restrictions
Latest version.

  (1) The placement of acknowledgement signs or plaques for Roadside Facility sponsorship is prohibited on the main traveled way. Such acknowledgement signs or plaques are permissible within the Roadside Facility, provided that they are placed such that their legend is not visible from any main traveled way, and such that they do not pose safety risks to Roadside Facility users. Acknowledgement signs or plaques acknowledging sponsorship of Traveler Service Programs may be placed along the main traveled way, as long as they conform to the design, size, and spacing requirements set forth in this Rule.

  (2) All acknowledgment signs shall meet the general principles and specific criteria prescribed in the MUTCD, including the provisions for acknowledgment signs in Section 2H.08. Furthermore, these acknowledgment signs shall not be placed at key decision points where a driver's attention is more appropriately focused on traffic control devices, roadway geometry, or traffic conditions.

  (3) Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques:

  (a) Shall meet all design and placement criteria for acknowledgment signs as covered in Part 2 of the MUTCD and all sign design principles covered in the Standard Highway Signs and Markings Book;

  (b) When located on a bikeway or shared-use path, should also be appropriately sized commensurate with the legibility needs of the bikeway or path user;

  (c) Shall be placed near the site(s) being sponsored, consistent with the purpose and principles of traffic control devices in Parts 1 and 2 of the MUTCD;

  (d) May not display any directional information, in accordance with Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD;

  (e) May not display telephone numbers, Internet addresses, or other legends prohibited by the MUTCD (consistent with Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD) for the purpose of contacting the sponsoring entity or to obtain information on the sponsorship program, such as how to become a sponsor at an available site; and

  (f) In accordance with the provisions of the MUTCD, the acknowledgment signs shall not be appended to any other sign, sign assembly, or other traffic control device.

  (g) Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall remain in place only for the duration of the agreement.

  (4) For sponsorship of travel service programs that are not site-specific, such as 511 Traveler Information, Radio-Weather, and Radio-Traffic, an acknowledgment plaque may be mounted in the same sign assembly below the General Service signs for these programs. The acknowledgment plaque is a horizontally oriented rectangle, with the horizontal dimension longer than the vertical dimension. The size of the acknowledgment plaque shall not exceed the lesser of 1/3 of the area of the General Service sign below which it is mounted or 24 square feet. An acknowledgment plaque shall not exceed 1/3 of the area of the largest size prescribed in the MUTCD for a specified standard sign below which the acknowledgment plaque is mounted, even where the standard sign is enlarged in accordance with Sections 2A.11 and 2I.01 of the MUTCD or where the size of a standard sign used is designated as Oversized in the MUTCD for its application. Where the legend of a standard sign is modified based on the Utah MUTCD, and results in a sign size larger than that of the standard sign in the National MUTCD, the size of the corresponding acknowledgment plaque is governed by the size of the standard sign in the National MUTCD with the standard, unmodified legend. The sponsor legend on an acknowledgment plaque shall not exceed 1/3 of the area of the plaque.

  (5) The provision of highway-related services, products, or monetary contributions that occurs through naming sponsorship (sometimes referred to as "naming rights") of officially mapped named or numbered highways is, by definition, sponsorship. Consistent with Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD, an unofficial overlay or secondary designation in the name of a sponsor on the official highway name or number through proclamation, contract, agreement, or other means, may be acknowledged within the highway right-of-way only with an acknowledgment sign. An acknowledgment sign may not display a legend that states, either explicitly or by implication, that the highway is named for the sponsor.

  (6) In accordance with Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD, in order to maintain the recognition value of official devices used for traffic control, acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall only take the form of static, non-changeable, non-electronic legends.

  (7) Except as provided for acknowledgment plaques in Paragraph R918-7-5(4) of this Rule, acknowledgment sign and acknowledgment plaque messages shall not be interspersed, combined, or alternated with other official traffic control messages, either in the same display space, by adjacency in the same assembly, or by adjacency of multiple assemblies whose longitudinal separation does not meet the placement criteria contained in the MUTCD, including when placed on opposite sides of the roadway facing the same direction of travel.

  (8) Consistent with the provisions of Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD, due to the limit on their maximum overall size, acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques may not be overhead installations. Only roadside, post-mounted installations of acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques are allowed.

  (9) In order that the focus remains on the service provided rather than the sponsoring entity, the sponsor logo area on an acknowledgment sign or acknowledgment plaque shall be a horizontally oriented rectangle, consistent with the MUTCD provisions on business logos in Chapter 2J of the MUTCD. The width of this rectangle shall be at least 1.67 times its height, the total area of which may not exceed the maximum referenced or specified elsewhere in this Rule and in the MUTCD. The word legend describing the activity, such as "SPONSORED BY," shall be composed of upper-case lettering of the FHWA Standard Alphabets at least 3 inches high on conventional roads and at least 4 inches high on expressways and freeways.

  (10) When a graphic logo is used to represent the sponsor (instead of a word legend using the FHWA Standard Alphabets), the logo shall be the principal trademarked official logo that represents the corporate name of the sponsor. Secondary logos or representations, even if trademarked, copyrighted, or otherwise protected, are classified as promotional advertising and may not be allowed in accordance with Section 1A.01 of the MUTCD.

  (11) An alternative business name whose sole or primary purpose appears to be to circumvent the provisions of the MUTCD is classified as promotional advertising rather than an acknowledgment of a sponsoring entity of a highway-related service. In accordance with Section 1A.01 of the MUTCD, promotional advertising shall not be allowed on any traffic control device or its supports.

  (12) Acknowledgment signs or acknowledgment plaques that include displays mimicking advertising shall not be allowed. The determination of whether a sign mimics or constitutes advertising lies with the FHWA. In accordance with Section 2H.08 of the MUTCD, a brief Department-wide slogan may be displayed on an acknowledgment sign. The slogan displayed is that of the program name, such as "ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY." Slogans for companion, supplementary, or other programs unrelated to the service being sponsored shall not be displayed on any acknowledgment sign or acknowledgment plaque.

  (13) Acknowledgement signs and acknowledgement plaques for Traveler Service Programs or safety programs, or other operational elements that are not Roadside Facilities, such as 511 Traveler Information, UDOT Traffic App, and UDOT Traffic Web Site, shall not be placed any closer than one (1) mile from any other acknowledgement sign or acknowledgement plaque in the same direction on the main traveled way. The one-mile restriction applies regardless of which travel service program or safety program sponsorship is being acknowledged, with the exception that Sponsor-A-Highway litter control recognition signs may be placed independently of signs acknowledging any other program. Sponsor-A-Highway litter control recognition signs may be placed as close as one (1) mile from each other if facing in the same direction.

  (14) The acknowledgement sign or acknowledgement plaque shall not:

  (a) Create a safety concern, or

  (b) Interfere with the free and safe flow of traffic.

  (15) No acknowledgement sign or plaque shall promote or acknowledge sponsorship of:

  (a) Any substance or activity that is illegal for minors, such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or gambling,

  (b) Any political party, candidate, purpose, or issue: or,

  (c) Sexual material.
R918-7-6. Advertising - Size, Placement, and Content Restrictions
Latest version.

  (1) The placement of any advertising within the right of way, except in a Facility within a Rest Area or Welcome Center, is prohibited. Any advertisement within Rest Areas and Welcome Centers facilities shall meet all of the following:

  (a) The advertising legend shall not be visible from the main traveled way; and,

  (b) The advertisement shall not resemble any traffic control device; and,

  (c) Signed advertisement shall only consist of printed or electronic media affixed within the interior of the building, or if the facility is in the form of a bulletin board or a partial enclosure, on the side facing away from any main traveled way; and,

  (d) Any audio advertisement shall only be inside of a doored building so that the sound shall not be heard outside of building when the door is closed; and,

  (e) Individual mounted signs and electronic displays are limited to four (4) feet by eight (8) feet in either portrait or landscape format.

  (2) Any advertising sign or other advertisement shall not:

  (a) Create a safety concern, or

  (b) Interfere with the free and safe flow of traffic.

  (3) No advertising sign or other advertisement shall promote:

  (a) Any substance or activity that is illegal for minors, such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or gambling;

  (b) Any political party, candidate, purpose, or issue; or,

  (c) Sexual material.