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California Highways

13-Point County Route Marker Program

The following is the 13 point program adopted by NACO for the signage of County Routes. It is almost identical to that adopted by California in 1958. Statements have been translated from the legalese.

A program of placing county route markers on certain county roads is most desireable and beneficial to counties as well as to the travelling public, and is a valuable service to the public.
A program of placing county route markers should be implemented by NACO.
Route marking for county routes should conform to the "Purpose and Policy in the Establishment and Development of United States Numbered Highways" as adopted and revices by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO), and the method of installing such signs should follow the principles set forth in the "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways" published by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in June 1961. This is now published by the Government Printing Office (ISBN 999037533X), and is also available from ITE and in CD-ROM format from ATSSA.
The recommended sign is a pentagon with rounded top corners, 18"x18" in size or larger, with yellow letters, numerals and border on a blue background.
Routes to be numbered should be sleected by the governing bodies of the counties involved with a particular route by a proper resolution of the body. In the event inter-county routes or routes into or through incorporated cities are requested for numbering, resolutions from each governing body involved must be on file before the number is assigned.
Numbered routes must meet one of the following criteria:

The route is a major road of general public interest, such as qualified connections between state highways or county signed routes.
The route is a road leading to a major facility of a state park, county park, national park or monument, or historical monument.
The route is a road leading to a major publically owned recreation area or to a major defense installation or area.
The route is a major arterial street or road.

Each state association must set up a board of review to administer and monitor the program. In California, the board consists of 2 county supervisors, 2 members of the County Engineers Council of California, 1 representative of the California State Automobile Association (CSAA, Northern California AAA), 1 representative of the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC, Southern California AAA), 1 staff member of CSAC, and the city-county cooperative projects engineer of the Division of Highways.
The individual state highway departments, through their state-aid departments, act as the agency to select a numbering system, assigning numbers, and maintaining the necessary permanent records.
Numbers are assigned by the state highway departments only upon receipt of the resolution of the Board and with the approval of the Board of Review.
The 13-point program are guides to be followed and may be amended for individual state situations.
Adminstration of the program is by the County Supervisors Association of California (now the California State Association of Counties).
The program is voluntary.
Upon approval and acceptance of the program, steps should be taken to include the standard county route marker in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways.

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