Ontario Traffic Manual - Book 7 - 1. Introduction

Introduction

Book 7 - Temporary Conditions (Office and Field Edition) is one of a series of volumes that makes up the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM). The 2022 edition of OTM Book 7 is an update to the January 2014 edition.

OTM Book 7 addresses the application of traffic control devices in temporary work zones that result from highway activities such as:

Planning.
Construction.
Surveying.
Maintenance.
Work by utility companies.
Unplanned event responses.
Other work within a public highway allowance.

OTM Book 7 should be read in conjunction with the following OTM series:

OTM Book 1 (Introduction to the OTM) and its three appendices, which provide guidelines on the design and application of traffic control signs, signals, markings, and delineation devices.
OTM Book 2 (Sign Design, Fabrication, and Patterns) for detailed information on the design and fabrication of individual signs including French language and bilingual versions of signs.

OTM Book 4 (Ground-Mounted Sign and Support Inspection and Maintenance).
OTM Book 5 (Regulatory Signs).
OTM Book 6 (Warning Signs).
OTM Book 8 (Guide and Information Signs).
OTM Book 10 (Dynamic Message Signs).
OTM Book 11 (Pavement, Hazard, and Delineation Markings).
OTM Book 12 (Traffic Signals).
OTM Book 15 (Pedestrian Crossing Treatments).
OTM Book 18 (Cycling Facilities).

Other books in the OTM series provide practical guidance on a full range of traffic control devices and their applications.

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A complete listing of the planned and current volumes is available to download for free at the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) website at www.library.mto.gov.on.ca.

Other documents, not in the OTM series, that should be referenced during the design of temporary conditions include:

Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads and its MTO Design Supplement.

MTO Bikeways Design Manual (for Provincial highways).
The MTO Roadside Design Manual.
Ontario Provincial Standards for Roads and Public Works (OPS).
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), R.S.O. 1990.
Ontario Regulations for Construction Projects, O.Reg. 213/91.

The most up-to-date version of these documents should be referenced.

Purpose of the Manual

OTM Book 7 provides fundamental principles, guidelines, and current best practices for traffic control in temporary work zones with the goal of ensuring the protection of workers and the safe and efficient movement of highway users through work zones. Temporary works are not exclusive only to

construction works, but they also include events such as road closures for parades and filming. Book 7 is intended for use by the following stakeholders:

Road authorities (provincial, municipal, and private road owners) in Ontario and their contractors.
Utilities, designers, enforcement officers, and others who may have approval to work on public highways.

Work zone safety depends on the application of several key elements which must work together as a system or a “safety chain”. These elements include:

Design of the highway, construction, and maintenance plan.
Traffic control plan that identifies all necessary elements.
Traffic Protection Plan for the protection of workers.

Training of all personnel involved in traffic control, and/or working on a highway.
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Contractor compliance with traffic control and Traffic Protection Plans, including safe installation, application, and removal of all necessary traffic control elements.

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Quality assurance checks of contractor compliance with traffic control.
Safe work habits on the part of workers.
Appropriate police enforcement.

Safety for highway users and workers is paramount, especially workers who set-up, operate, and remove traffic control measures. If a key element is weak or absent, safety may be compromised.

Legal Authority

Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) – The MLTSD, through the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and Regulations for Construction Projects, R.S.O. 1990 and O.Reg.

213/91 as amended, has the legal authority to regulate the safety of provincially regulated workers. This includes measures to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job, including requirements related to traffic control persons (TCP) who direct traffic through or around a highway construction site.

While OTM Book 7 can be used as a tool to provide reasonable precautions that should be taken on construction projects, the OHSA and its regulations take precedence over OTM Book 7 in matters of worker safety and only the OHSA and its regulations are enforced by the MLTSD.

The Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) – The MTO, through the Highway Traffic Act (HTA), Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act, and

various related statutes, has the legal authority and responsibility to regulate and control traffic on a highway and regulate and control motor vehicles that operate in the province.

Municipalities – Individual municipalities have the legal authority and responsibility, through the Municipal Act and various regional municipality acts, to regulate and control traffic on their highways. The authority and responsibility also apply to construction and maintenance activities on highways.

Road Authority – Defined as the body (municipal or provincial) that has legal jurisdiction over a highway.

Traffic signs, pavement markings, traffic control signals, and other devices to regulate, warn, or guide traffic are to be installed only under the approval of the road authority.

When authorized, contractors, utility companies, or others may install temporary condition signs and devices to protect highway users, workers, and equipment, subject to the guidelines of Book 7, the OHSA and its regulations, and the requirements of the road authority.

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Contractors may be authorized by the road authority to slow upstream traffic (e.g. rolling closures). The contractor may also implement short-term highway closures, as authorized by the road authority. It is the road authority’s decision whether to use contractor staff or police for these operations.

Regulatory devices may need to be supported by applicable legislation, regulations, or by-laws. Effective traffic control requires both the appropriate application of traffic control devices and reasonable, effective enforcement.

Training

All users must be trained on how to use OTM Book 7 as well as develop an understanding of the general principles and theories shown throughout the manual. There are three types of users of the OTM Book 7:

Traffic Control Persons (TCP);
Workers who design traffic control plans; and
Workers who set-up, operate, and remove traffic control measures.

To achieve safe and effective traffic control appropriate training of involved in the planning and installation of traffic control systems is essential. Training outcomes are:

Experience in the implementation of traffic control in the field, relevant to the work being done.
- A good working knowledge of all potential hazards.
- The ability to consider factors that impact communication to the driver.
- The ability to install effective traffic control setups that are safe for all road users.

Job specific training must be included for all users in accordance with the OHSA and the applicable regulations. Users should be trained using the Office Edition to fully understand how and when modifications to the layouts may be required.

For more information on TCP, refer to Section 4.4.2.
Workers who design traffic control plans to protect both workers and road users:

Shall be a competent worker;
1. Shall be knowledgeable in standards and guidelines of OTM Book 7 and the Regulations for Construction Projects;
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  Shall be able to recognize the design elements of work zone traffic control; and

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Shall be given adequate training with respect to techniques and procedures for designing effective, efficient and safe traffic control plans.

Section 67 (6) of the O.Reg. 213/91 for Construction Projects requires that the worker who set up, operate, or remove measures on a roadway or a shoulder of a roadway:

Shall be a competent worker;

Shall not perform any other work while setting up or removing the measures; and
Shall be given adequate written and oral instructions, in a language that they understand, with respect to setting up or removing the measures.

Section 23 of the O.Reg. 145/00 requires that the worker who directs vehicular traffic that may be a hazard to workers on a public way:

Shall not direct vehicular traffic for more than one lane in the same direction;

Shall not direct vehicular traffic if the normal posted speed limit of the public way is more than 90 kilometres per hour;

Shall be a competent worker;

Shall not perform any other work while setting up or removing the measures; and
Shall be given adequate written and oral instructions, in a language that they understand, with respect to directing vehicular traffic, and those instructions shall include a description of the signals that are to be used.

A Competent worker means a worker who:

Is qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to perform the work;
- Is familiar with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and with the provisions of the regulations that apply to the work; and
  - Has knowledge of all potential or actual danger to health or safety in the work.

Public way means a highway or other street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct, or other open space to which the public has access, as of right or by expressed or implied invitation.