ROADWAY MEDIANS

Goal

To provide a safe area for pedestrians when crossing the road, to help manage left-hand turning pocket with narrower or fewer lanes, and to provide space for landscaping.

What Is It

Similar to pedestrian safety islands, roadway medians usually reside in the middle of a roadway and can serve as pedestrian refuge. Medians are used for the narrowing of roads and provide a place for landscaping which can help reduce the speed of drivers. There are a few ways to design medians:

/ A painted median flush with the road surface, with little to no construction; or

/ A raised median, which is a higher cost; or

/ A depressed median, which is a higher cost.

Medians are likely to be the most useful on high volume, high speed roads as opposed to lower speed roads. Medians should not replace potentially better solutions such as wider sidewalks, bicycle lanes, buffer strips, and on-street parking depending on the areas that are having problems that need to be addressed. To learn more, click here.

Where no median is present, islands can be used as a measure to narrow the roadway. These work well in mid-block locations or neighborhood entrances as well.

Potential Conflicts

Studies have found that medians are a proven countermeasure of keeping pedestrians safe and reducing the likelihood of a crash.

Implementation issues that might occur are:

/ Median barriers can restrict traffic flow if a vehicle breaks down;

/ Can restrict access for emergency vehicles;

/ Potential dangerous pedestrian activity in the middle of the roadways;

/ Ends of medians must be well designed or could be a potential safety hazard; and

/ Signage must be visible to prevent drivers from driving on the wrong side of the median barrier.

COST Low-Cost

The cost for adding a raised median is approximately $15,000 to $30,000 per 100 feet, depending on the design, site conditions, and whether the median can be added as part of a utility improvement or other street construction project.