For More Information:

For more information, visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bikeFHWA, Offi ce of SafetyTamara Redmontamara.redmon@dot.gov202-366-4077

Case Study:

Photo Credit: Michael Frederick,City of St. Petersburg, FLPhoto Credit: Michael Frederick,City of St. Petersburg, FL

Sources1 Wilson, Petritsch, Quantifying Countermeasure Effectiveness — Orlando, FL, PBIC, 

November 2008.

2 NHTSA, Traffi c Safety Facts 2008 Pedestrians, NHTSA, Washington, DC, 2009.3 Lindley, J., Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven 

Safety Countermeasures FHWA, Washington, DC, July 2008.

4 FHWA, Desktop Reference for Crash Reduction Factors, FHWA, Washington, DC, 

September 2007.

5 TRB Access Management Manual, TRB, Washington, DC, August 2004.6 King, M. Pedestrian Safety through a Raised Median and Redesigned Intersections,

TRR 1445, TRB, Washington, DC, 2004.

7 Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Pedestrian Planning and Design Handboo

FDOT, Tallahassee, FL, 1996. 

8 Spot Devices. Rectangular Rapid Flashing Pedestrian Safety System. 

Retrieved February 18, 2010 from: http://www.spotdevices.com/system-rrfb.html

FHWA-SA-10-031

Sunken Gardens,St. Petersburg, FloridaImproving Safety and Access to LocalEstablishments and a Popular Tourist DestinationSunken Gardens, in St. Petersburg, Florida, is a popular tourist destination. Across the street are a number of local dining establishments with no safe way for pedestrians to cross the street. Sunken Gardens is located on the east side of 4th Street North (US 92). The road averages 31,500 vehicles per day with speeds averaging more than 10 mph above the legal limit. To aid pedestrians in crossing 4th Street, the City of St. Petersburg installed a raised pedestrian refuge area in front of Sunken Gardens. The raised pedestrian refuge area made it possible to install a supplemental traffic control device — a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB). Installed on roadside poles, the RRFB remains dark until a pedestrian activates the system by pressing a push button. Once the system is activated, rapidly flashing amber beacon (rectangular strobe) lights provide a bright warning to motorists.8 In the first week after the raised 

pedestrian refuge area and RRFB were installed, over 900 crossings were reported with over 85 percent of motorists yielding to pedestrians.
There’s a signal up the block, but looking left — there’s a gap in 

traffi c. Looking right — there should be enough time to make it all the way. Midway across she picks up the pace as some vehicles have changed lanes and are closer than she thought — now traffi c is coming towards her from both directions. She is stuck in the middle of the road, keeping her feet on the yellow lines while waiting for traffi c to pass so she can make 

it across the rest of the way. That’s when it happens...a truck passing by clips her while she stands in the middle of the road. He slams on the brakes once he realizes what happened — but it is too late.

The resulting crash is all too common. It was also preventable by providing a median or pedestrian refuge area. Crossing roadways that do not have medians can be dangerous. In fact, the pedestrian crash risk for crossing the arterial without a median was 6.48 times higher than for crossing the arterial with a median.1

Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refugee AreasPedestrian crashes account for about 12 percent of all traffi c fatalities annually. Over 75 percent of these fatalities occur at non-intersection locations. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle crash every 120 minutes and one is injured every 8 minutes.2 Many of these crashes are preventable. By 

providing raised medians and pedestrian refuge islands, we can bring these crash numbers down, prevent injuries, and save lives.The median is the area between opposing lanes of traffi c — a median can either be open (pavement markings only) or they can be channelized (raised medians or islands) to separate various road users.

Providing raised medians or pedestrian refuge areas at pedestriacrossings at marked crosswalks has demonstrated a 46 percent reductioin pedestrian crashes. At unmarkcrosswalk locations, pedestrian crashes have been reduced by 39 percent.3 Installing raised pedestria

refuge islands on the approaches to unsignalized intersections has had the most impact reducing pedestriacrashes.

Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge AreasCrossing the street can be a complex task for pedestrians. Pedestriamust estimate vehicle speeds, adjust their own walking speeds, determine adequacy of gaps, predict vehicle paths, and time their crossings appropriately. Drivers must see pedestrians, estimate vehicand pedestrian speeds, determine the need for action, and react. At night, darkness and headlamp glare make the crossing task even more complex for both pedestrians and drivers.Raised medians and pedestrian refuge islands allow pedestrians to cross one direction of traffi c at a time. This signifi cantly reduces the complexity of the crossing. They also provide a space to install improved lighting at pedestrian crossing locations. Improved lighting has been shown to reduce nighttime pedestrian fatalities at crossingby 78 percent.4Additional Benefi ts of Raised MediansRaised medians provide additional benefi ts above and beyond reducing pedestrian crashes, including:• Reducing motor vehicle crashes by 15 percent.4• Decreasing delays (>30 percent) for motorists.5• Increasing capacity (>30 percent) of roadways.5• Reducing vehicle speeds on the roadway.6• Providing space for landscaping within the right-of-way.• Providing space to install additional roadway lighting, further 

improving the safety of the roadway.

• Providing space to allow for supplemental signage on

multi lane roadways.

• Costing less to build and maintain than paved medians.7

Photo Credit: www.pedbikeimages.org / Libby Thomas(http://www.pedbikeimages.org/pubdetail.cfm?picid=825)

Photo Credit: Mike Cynecki