A ROADSIGN ATTRACTION.

Byline: Joe Harwood The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - If necessity is the mother of invention, then frustration must be its first cousin.

It was the angst of not knowing whether he could drive his 36-foot-long Winnebago motor home along with a tow car in and then out of fuel stations, restaurants and roadside attractions that moved Frank Brodersen of Springfield to act.

"As you go down freeways, you see the blue signs that say Shell service station ahead," said Brodersen, 73. "None of those signs ever say whether you can easily take an oversize vehicle into them and then get out."

After touring 46 states in his recreational vehicle - and running into his share of dead-ends, puny parking spaces and secondary roads too tight for turning around - the retired real estate agent hatched the idea of the "RV Friendly" symbol that could be posted on existing highway signs.

Hoping the circular yellow symbol that is 12 inches in diameter with the printed letters "RV" 8 inches tall would signal a safe harbor for anxious travelers in big rigs, Brodersen started pitching the idea to the RV industry.

The Family Motor Coach Association loved it and steered him to the Oregon Travel Information Council - the organization in charge of those helpful blue-background signs that list restaurants, hotels, attractions and service stations at upcoming exits.

After making a presentation to the council's governor-appointed board of directors and receiving an emphatic yes, Brodersen and other enthusiasts started preparing a trial.

Jim Renner, deputy director of the council, termed the sign a "wonderful idea." The travel information council is self-supporting, getting its operating budget from the permit fees businesses pay to post their logos on highway signs.

"It's such an elegant idea to have a simple symbol that guides people driving these oversize vehicles," Renner said. "It gives them assurance they can get in and out of a facility."

Renner had to obtain approval for the symbol from the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Both gave the thumbs-up, although the feds made Brodersen remove the smiley face he originally had included on the symbol.

Brodersen said he contacted service-station designers and other experts to develop criteria for whether a business could post the symbol on its highway sign logo. These include:

All facilities must have roadway access and egress on a hard-surfaced road of pavement or gravel that is free of potholes, and lane widths of 12 feet and a minimum swing radius of 50 degrees to enter and exit.

Restaurants and tourist attractions must have two or more spaces that are 12 feet wide, 65 feet long and a swing radius of 50 degrees at entry and exit.

Canopies at fueling stations must have a minimum of 14 feet of clearance, and those selling diesel to RVs must have low-flow pump nozzles.

Last summer, Renner and Brodersen conducted a limited test on Interstate 5 between Albany and Aurora, signing up a dozen businesses. Surveys of those pulling trailers and driving motor homes at the end of the summer revealed that 92 percent of the 167 respondents wanted the program to continue, Brodersen said.

"We had what amounted to an overwhelming response from users and participants," Brodersen said. He added that one gas station owner told him that his business went up 13 percent as a result of posting the symbol on his highway sign.

Starting this month, the trial area will expand to include I-5 from Ashland to just south of Portland; Highway 101 from Brookings to Astoria; Highway 97 from Klamath Falls to Madras; and all connecting highways, including Highway 58. The trial will last through 2006.

Brodersen dreams of his idea going national.

Louisiana this summer grabbed Brodersen's symbol and passed a law allowing the signs on all state highways, Renner said. There's also been interest from Maryland.

"There is real potential for this," Renner said. "There's a good possibility it could go national."

Businesses interested in "signing" up for the RV Friendly program can contact the council at [phone] or on the Internet at www.oregontic.com.

CAPTION(S):

Frank Brodersen, frustrated by getting his RV stuck in tight spaces, proposed that road signs show which businesses have space and overhead clearance for big vehicles. The state is trying the idea.