Chapter 7A. General¶
§7A.01 Introduction¶
Massachusetts-modified
Massachusetts amends this section per the Massachusetts Amendments to the 11th Edition of the MUTCD (January 2026). The National MUTCD text is shown above; below is Massachusetts's amended text, as published in the supplement (deletions removed, additions kept).
Supplement directives: - Insert the following paragraphs. - Insert the following Section and subsequent paragraphs.
Standard: 02A. For the purpose of Part 7, school zones shall only be applicable to schools including all public, private, charter, vocational technical, and approved special education schools serving students in one or more grades between K and 12.
Support: 02B. The intent of establishing school zones is to provide increased protection for school children and their guardians walking and bicycling on roadways in the vicinity of schools. The establishment of school zones on roadways that are not crossed by school children and/or not expected to be used by children biking to school may reduce the effectiveness of school zones and school zone speed limits.
Standard: 02C. A school zone on State Highway shall be approved by the Department.
Support
01. Part 7 sets forth basic principles and prescribes standards for the design, application, installation, and maintenance of all traffic control devices (including signs, signals, and markings) and other controls (including adult crossing guards) for the special pedestrian conditions in school areas.
§7A.02 School Route Plans and School Crossings¶
Guidance
01. A school route plan for each school serving elementary to high school students should be prepared in order to develop uniformity in the use of school area traffic controls and to serve as the basis for a school traffic control plan for each school.
02. The school route plan, developed in a systematic manner by the school, law enforcement, and traffic officials responsible for school pedestrian safety, should consist of a map (see Figure 7A-1) showing streets, the school, existing traffic controls, established school walk routes, and established school crossings.
03. Bicycle use as a mode of transportation, as applicable, should also be considered if students biking to and from school are not allowed to use the sidewalks along the pedestrian route.
04. The type(s) of school area traffic control devices used, either warning or regulatory, should be related to the volume and speed of vehicular traffic, street width, and the number and age of the students using the crossing.
05. School area traffic control devices should be included in a school traffic control plan.
Support
06. To establish a safer route to and from school for schoolchildren, the application of planning criterion for school walk routes might make it necessary for children to walk an indirect route to an established school crossing located where there is existing traffic control and to avoid the use of a direct crossing where there is no existing traffic control.
07. The frequency of gaps in the traffic stream that are sufficient for student crossing is different at each crossing location. When the delay between the occurrences of adequate gaps becomes excessive, students might become impatient and endanger themselves by attempting to cross the street during an inadequate gap. In these instances, the creation of sufficient gaps needs to be considered to accommodate the crossing demand.
Guidance
08. School walk routes should be planned to take advantage of existing traffic controls.
09. The following factors should be considered when determining the feasibility of requiring children to walk a longer distance to a crossing with existing traffic control:
- A. The availability of adequate sidewalks or other pedestrian walkways to and from the location with existing control,
- B. The number of students using the crossing,
- C. The age levels of the students using the crossing, and
- D. The total extra walking distance.
Support
10. A School Crossing signal warrant is provided in Section 4C.06.
§7A.03 Warrants for Establishing a School Zone¶
Massachusetts-modified
This section is added by Massachusetts (it is not in the National MUTCD), per the Massachusetts Amendments to the 11th Edition of the MUTCD (January 2026).
Standard
01. For a school zone to be established, all the following conditions shall be met: A. The facility is a school (see Section 7A.01). B. Children walk or bicycle to or from the school and are expected to cross or enter the roadway where the school zone is proposed; or the school and related facilities (e.g., classrooms, cafeteria, gymnasium, playground, athletic fields, parking lots) are separated by the roadway and require the children to cross the roadway on foot to access the facilities. C. The school facility or municipality provides a plan showing the routes that students will use to walk and/or bike to the school and shows the limits of the proposed school zone. D. The municipality provides written documentation of their support and/or approval of the school zone.