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Medians
Medians are areas of a roadway used to provide a safety buffer between traffic lanes. They may separate opposing travel lanes, or in the case of side medians, high speed from low speed traffic. They may be raised, depressed, landscaped, or indicated by painted lines. A pedestrian refuge island is a particular kind of median, usually located mid-block (between intersections), as a safe area provided for pedestrians crossing the street without the aid of traffic controls such as signals or stop signs.
Raised medians confer a number of safety advantages:
- They provide a waiting area and safe zone for pedestrians crossing a multi-lane road. Pedestrians may concentrate on one direction of traffic at a time when sufficiently wide medians are present.
- They provide an area for landscaping or public art,
- They may stretch for miles or only a few feet, depending on the safety need.
- They can be designed with breaks (raised or unraised) to allow bicycle access, emergency vehicle access, or drainage.
- They may act as a traffic calming device, particularly when combined with lanes of reduced width, and/or traffic lanes. (However, in some high-speed locations, they may result in speed increases as motorists feel less threatened by oncoming traffic.)
- They can be used to block unsafe left turns in and out of a side street, requiring drivers to turn at safer locations.
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ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK
REFERENCES
Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] Zegeer, Charles, J. Richard Stewart, Herman H. Huang, and Peter A. Lagerwey. 2002. Safety Effects of Marked vs. Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.
[2]
[3]
[4]
PICTURE REFERENCES
Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] Landscaped raised median. Photo by Dan Burden via the Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center Image Library.
[2] Landscaped broken median at a signailized intersection. Photo by Dan Burden via the Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center Image Library.
FURTHER READING
- Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures. Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation.
KEYWORDS
pedestrian, crossing, countermeasure, refuge island,
