http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov

FHWA Safety Program

Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians 

and Pedestrian Refuge Areas
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

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.

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. 

Photo Credit: www.pedbikeimages.org/Libby Thomas 

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Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas

Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas

Pedestrian 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. 

Photo Credit: Bruce Landis, Angled cut-through in Bainbridge, WA

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Providing raised medians or pedestrian refuge areas at pedestrian crossings at marked crosswalks 

has demonstrated a 46 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. At unmarked crosswalk 

locations, pedestrian crashes have been reduced by 39 percent.3 Installing raised pedestrian 

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

reducing pedestrian crashes.

Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas
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Case Study: Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg, Florida

Improving Safety and Access to Local Establishments and a Popular Tourist Destination

Sunken 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 

traffi c 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 

fl ashing amber beacon (rectangular strobe) lights provide a bright warning 

to motorists.4 In the fi rst 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. 

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

Photo Credit: Michael Frederick, City of St. Petersburg, FL
Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas

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Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas:

Crossing the street can be a complex task for pedestrians. Pedestrians must 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 vehicle and pedestrian 

speeds, determine the need for action, and react. 

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. 

Under nighttime conditions, the crossing task is even more complex for pedestrians. Pedestrians 

are watching car headlights and it is more diffi cult to correctly judge the speed of, and distance 

to, approaching motor vehicles when only headlights are visible. Valuable cues used by 

pedestrians to judge speed, e.g., change in the observed shape of the approaching car and 

relative location with respect to roadside objects, are more diffi cult to observe at night. Variations 

in motor vehicle travel speeds add to the complexity of judging adequate gaps in traffi c.

Raised medians and refuge islands 

provide a space to install improved lighting 

at pedestrian crossing locations. Improved 

lighting has been shown to reduce the 

nighttime pedestrian fatalities at crossings 

by 78 percent.5

Raised medians and refuge islands also 

reduce the amount of delay incurred by 

pedestrians waiting for a gap in traffi c 

to cross. Shorter delays translate into 

fewer pedestrians taking risks by crossing 

through “holes” in the traffi c stream. On a 

four-lane roadway with 5,000 ADT, medians 

can reduce pedestrians’ delay waiting for 

a gap by 79 percent (from 41 seconds to 9 

seconds).6

Photo Credit: Michael Ronkin
“Holes” or Gaps

Most pedestrians do not cross in gaps; they 

cross in a perceived series of gaps, or a “hole.” 

A gap occurs when a walker can step into 

the roadway and reach a place of safety 

before any car crosses the pedestrian path. 

A “hole,” on the other hand, occurs when 

there is still traffi c in the middle or far lanes in 

front of the pedestrian when the pedestrian 

enters the street, or when a car passes behind 

the pedestrian before he or she completes 

the crossing. As long as motorists behave as 

the pedestrian expects, a crossing in a “hole” 

in traffi c may be made without incident. 

If conditions change — for example, if a car 

changes lanes — the expected “hole” begins 

to close and a “second threat” type crash 

can occur.1 

Medians and refuge islands reduce the 

potential for the second threat crash by 

minimizing the traffi c fl ows a pedestrian 

must predict. 

Safe Multimodal Connections

Medians are especially important at transit 

stops. Transit stops are frequently located 

along busy arterials at uncontrolled crossing 

locations. Providing medians can make 

these crossings safer and more appealing to 

existing and potential transit users. 

Additional Benefi ts of Raised 

Medians

Raised medians provide additional benefi ts 

above and beyond reducing pedestrian 

crashes.

Raised medians:

• Have been found to reduce motor vehicle 

crashes by 15 percent.5

• Decrease delays (>30 percent) for 

motorists.7

• Have resulted in increase in capacity (>30 

percent) of roadways.7

• Have been shown to reduce vehicle speeds 

on the roadway.8

• Provide space for landscaping within the 

right-of-way.

• Provide space to install additional roadway 

lighting, further improving the safety of the 

roadway. 

• Provide space to provide supplemental 

signage on multi-lane roadways.

• Can be less expensive to build and 

maintain than paved medians.9

Photo Credit: Michael Ronkin

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Safety Benefi ts of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas

Getting Pedestrians Safely Across the Street:

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strongly encourages the use of raised medians 

(or refuge areas) in curbed sections of multi-lane roadways in urban and suburban areas, 

particularly in areas where there are mixtures of a signifi cant number of pedestrians, high 

volumes of traffi c (more than 12,000 vehicles per day) and intermediate or high travel speeds.3

FHWA guidance further 

states that medians/refuge 

islands should be at least 4 

feet wide (preferably 8 feet 

wide for accommodation 

of pedestrian comfort and 

safety) and of adequate 

length to allow the anticipated 

number of pedestrians to 

stand and wait for gaps in 

traffi c before crossing the 

second half of the street.3

On refuges 6 feet or wider that serve designated pedestrian crossings, detectable warning 

strips complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act must 

be installed.10

1

 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

 Spot Devices. Rectangular Rapid Flashing Pedestrian Safety System. Retrieved February 18, 2010 from: http://www.spotdevices.com/system-rrfb.html

5 FHWA, Desktop Reference for Crash Reduction Factors, FHWA, Washington, DC, September 2007.

6 NCHRP Report 616, Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets, TRB, Washington DC, 2008.

7

 TRB Access Management Manual, TRB, Washington, DC, August 2004.

8

 King, M. Pedestrian Safety through a Raised Median and Redesigned Intersections, TRR 1445, TRB, Washington, DC, 2004.

9

 FDOT, Florida Pedestrian Planning and Design Handbook, FDOT, Tallahassee, FL, 1996. 

10 US Access Board, Draft Guidelines for public Rights-of-way, Section R305.4, U.S. Access Board, Washington, D.C., 2005. 

Photo Credit: Mike Cynecki
For More Information:

For more information, visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike

FHWA, Offi ce of Safety

Tamara Redmon

tamara.redmon@dot.gov

202-366-4077

FHWA-SA-10-020