Another project under consideration by the High Risk Rural Roads Committee is adding retroreflective strips to stop sign posts. These strips are a low-cost safety improvement to increase visibility of signs in low light situations.
Research on these strips has been published for more than ten years. Virginia researchers found that stop sign posts were detected earlier at night with the retroreflective post panels. Fitzpatrick and others found a significant crash reduction three years after installing strips on a single intersection in 2011 in Texas. Iowa's Center for Transportation Research and Education has ongoing research interests in this area. Summary can be found at https://ctre.iastate.edu/research-synthesis/intersections/stop-signs/add-reflective-material/.
Some Nebraska counties and NDOT have utilized these strips for a few years with success. Agencies interested in a statewide project for stop sign retroreflective post panels through the High Risk Rural Roads Committee should reach out to Mitch Doht at mdoht2@unl.edu.