Item: AVALANCHE WARNING SIGNS ON HIGHWAYS: A PRACTITIONER'S FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGN, PLACEMENT, AND RISK-BASED STANDARDIZATION
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Title: AVALANCHE WARNING SIGNS ON HIGHWAYS: A PRACTITIONER'S FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGN, PLACEMENT, AND RISK-BASED STANDARDIZATION
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Sharp, Eirik [ Alpine Solutions, Squamish, BC, Canada ]
- Campbell, Cam [ Alpine Solutions, Squamish, BC, Canada ]
- Thumlert, Scott [ Alpine Solutions, Squamish, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: This paper examines how transportation agencies design, place, and deploy avalanche warning signage, and proposes a framework for standardizing those decisions. Avalanche warning signage is a critical component of risk management for transportation corridors in avalanche-prone regions. Avalanche hazard and risk assessment, and operational risk management on highway corridors are generally mature practices, but the deployment of signage is not. Once an agency knows where its avalanche paths are, it must determine which of them carry signage, what that signage says, where each sign should stand, and which road users it addresses. Neither the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices nor the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals treats avalanches as a distinct hazard class, so agencies develop signage policy independently. We reviewed the signage practices of 10 agency programs in the Transportation Avalanche Research Pool, across North America, New Zealand and Norway, and found little consistency in signage deployment between agencies. Much of the variation is a defensible response to context, but the decisions are made in isolation, without reference to peer practice or to the evidence on sign effectiveness, which risks the inconsistent messaging that erodes driver compliance. In response, we propose a framework for agency-level signage manuals spanning deployment thresholds, placement criteria and sign design, supported by maintenance and records. The framework standardizes the basis on which signage decisions are made while allowing for local context.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P3.43.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790099187
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Eirik Sharp
Keywords: avalanche signage, highway avalanche risk management, transportation infrastructure.
Page Number(s): 1783 - 1790
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