I have attached a link to correspondence between the City of Tampa and FHA regarding whether a guardhouse and gate into a subdivision qualifies as a traffic control device and is subject to MUTCD. It agrees with your statement that the regulations specifically apply to railroad crossings and the like, but interprets the regulation to apply to this case.
Interpretation Letter 8-66(I) - Resources - FHWA MUTCD
From the FHA MUTCD site:
Q: Does the MUTCD apply to all roads and streets in the United States? A: Yes. In Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 655.603 states that the MUTCD is the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel.
From the Florida DOT site:
To comply with this statute, the Department has adopted the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (
MUTCD)
From the AAC minutes of the May 12, 2010 meeting:
In regards to the entr
y gates
the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTC
D) effective January 2011 will be adopted by
Sumter County and the Town of Lady Lake. Staff has
not been able to receive confirmation from
Marion County at this time. The MUTCD states that
a gate arm shall completely block a lane of traffic
except for a 24 inch opening for pedestrians; howev
er, in some instances the pedestrian opening may
increase to 36 inches. The District will comply wi
th the MUTCD which will require all vehicles,
inclusive of bicyclists, motorcycles and golf carts
, to stop at the gates to utilize their gate card o
r the
push button. Mr. Wartinbee advised the MUTCD also
requires alternating 16 inches of red and 16
inches of white tape on the gate arms which Staff w
ill apply manually.
If you need more, I suggest Google. I'm done.