FHWA: Making Our Roads Safer One Countermeasure at a Time

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ provencountermeasures. Source: www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden Median and pedestrian crossing islands near a roundabout. PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLES | PROVEN SAFETY COUNTERMEASURES 14. Medians and Pedestrian Crossing Islands in Urban and Suburban Areas Example of a road with a median and pedestrian crossing islands. Source: City of Charlotte, North Carolina Source: pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden A median is the area between A pedestrian crossing island (or opposing lanes of trafic, excluding refuge area) is a raised island, turn lanes. Medians in urban and located between opposing trafic suburban areas can be defined by lanes at intersection or midblock pavement markings, raised medians, locations, which separate crossing or islands to separate motorized and pedestrians frommotor vehicles. non-motorized road users. Example of a pedestrian crossing island. SAFETY BENEFITS: RAISEDMEDIAN 46% Reduction in pedestrian crashes PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ISLAND 56% Reduction in pedestrian crashes Source: Desktop Reference for Crash Reduction Factors , FHWA-SA-08-011, September 2008, Table 11. Pedestrian crashes account for approximately 15 percent of all trafic fatalities annually, and over 75 percent of these occur at non-intersection locations. 1 For pedestrians to safely cross a roadway, they must estimate vehicle speeds, adjust their walking speed, determine gaps in trafic, and predict vehicle paths. Installing raised medians or pedestrian crossing islands can help improve safety by simplifying these tasks and allowing pedestrians to cross one direction of trafic at a time. Transportation agencies should consider medians or pedestrian crossing islands in curbed sections of urban and suburban multi-lane roadways, particularly in areas with a significant mix of pedestrian and vehicle trafic and intermediate or high travel speeds. Some example locations that may benefit from raised medians or pedestrian crossing islands include: ƒ Mid-block areas. ƒ Approaches to multi-lane intersections. ƒ Areas near transit stops or other pedestrian-focused sites. 1 National Highway Trafic Safety Administration, Trafic Safety Facts - 2015 Data - Pedestrians . Report DOT HS 812 375, (Washington, DC: 2017).

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