Medians Provide Safety Benefits 

to All in Florida 

Florida Department of Transportation

KEY ELEMENTS:

Integrated into other design guidance

Institutionalized medians

The Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) 

requirement for restrictive medians on most multilane 

roads provides a foundation for installing pedestrian 

refuge islands at uncontrolled crossing locations.

Since 1993, FDOT has promoted 

incorporating restrictive median treatments 

in multilane projects with operating speeds 

over 40 mph. A restrictive median is a raised 

median that separates oncoming midblock 

travel lanes and permits left turns only at 

openings. FDOT expanded the policy in 2013 

to include multilane facilities with speeds 

under 40 mph to enhance vehicular and 

pedestrian safety. 

ROLE OF MEDIANS IN PROMOTING SAFER 

PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

The 2014 Median Handbook—an important 

document for FDOT’s median policy—firmly 

endorses the safety benefits of medians to 

all roadway users. The Handbook notes 

that restrictive medians make pedestrian 

crossings easier by breaking up a multilane 

crossing into two stages and reduce the 

risk of collisions. Moreover, providing raised 

medians or pedestrian refuge areas at 

marked crosswalks has demonstrated a 

46-percent reduction in pedestrian crashes

and a 39-percent reduction at unmarked

crossing locations.1

FDOT’s Multi Lane Facility Policy supports the 

State’s endorsement of restrictive lanes and 

medians and directs projects to incorporate 

restrictive medians in most multilane 

projects (there are exceptions for four-lane 

sections with design speeds of 45 mph or 

less). This policy and the Median Handbook 

combine to support the installation of 

medians on FDOT roadways.

Figure 1. Pedestrian refuge island on four-lane road in south Florida.1

DESIGN CRITERIA AND APPLICATIONS

FDOT’s guidance for pedestrian-friendly 

median design focuses on spacing and land 

use context. The Median Handbook permits 

longer spaces between median openings. 

For more information, please contact:

Florida DOT, Systems Planning, 850.414.4900,

dot.state.fl.us/planning/systems/

 SAFE TRANSPORTATION FOR EVERY PEDESTRIAN CASE STUDY
Case Study: Medians Provide Safety Benefits to All in Florida 

EDC-4 STEP: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_4/step.cfm

Longer spacing between median openings 

(i.e. left turns) reduces the number of vehiclepedestrian conflict points and creates more 

opportunities for pedestrian refuge islands 

and informal crossing locations. 

The Median Handbook refers to both 

FHWA's implementation guidance and 

FDOT's Traffic Engineering Manual on when 

to install a pedestrian refuge island. The 

Median Handbook restates FHWA’s criteria 

for implementing a refuge island: curbed 

multilane road, urban or suburban context, 

significant pedestrian demand, over 12,000 

vehicles per day, and elevated travel 

speeds.2

The State's support for pedestrian-friendly 

medians makes it easier for roadway 

designers to implement refuge islands. 

FDOT’s Traffic Engineering Manual 

recommends considering refuge islands at 

all proposed midblock crossings. Criteria 

for midblock crosswalk installation include 

proximity to activity generators, a minimum 

pedestrian crossing threshold, greater 

than 2,000 Annual Daily Traffic (ADT), and 

distance to other crossing locations, among 

other factors. 

In situations where vehicle volumes exceed 

12,000 ADT or crossing distances surpass 

60 feet, refuge islands are required (unless 

a pedestrian signal or Pedestrian Hybrid 

Beacon is present).3

 A proposed crosswalk 

at an uncontrolled location must be 

reviewed by the respective district’s Traffic 

Operations Engineer for approval.

Figure 2. Illustration. FDOT context classifications for built 

environments (used in planning and design phase to create 

roadways that balance the needs of vehicular traffic, transit, 

pedestrians, and bicyclists).4

RETROFITTING EXISTING MEDIANS 

FDOT’s Median Handbook also outlines how 

an existing roadway may be upgraded 

to one with a pedestrian refuge island. 

The guidance recommends assessing 

all roadways undergoing altering or 

resurfacing of their existing median 

characteristics to determine appropriate 

retrofitting. Practitioners should evaluate 

the roadway for presence and proximity 

of pedestrian generators and bicycle 

facilities, among others. For example, if 

local conditions have changed to include a 

school nearby, the median’s original design 

may need to be modified to accommodate 

new pedestrian safety concerns. 

“As early as 1988, the safety benefits of 

restrictive medians were made clear by Florida 

and national research. The positive benefits were 

clearly shown, both for both pedestrians and 

motorists.” 

–Gary Sokolow, Senior Transportation Planner, 

FDOT

References

1. Florida Department of Transportation, “2014 Median Handbook,” (2014). http://www.fdot.gov/planning/systems/programs/sm/accman/pdfs/fdotmedianhandbook.pdf

2. Federal Highway Administration, “Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures” https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/

legislationandpolicy/policy/memo071008/

3. Florida Department of Transportation, “Traffic Engineering Manual,” (2016). http://www.fdot.gov/traffic/TrafficServices/Studies/TEM/FDOT_Traffic_Engineering_Manual_

November2016.pdf

4. Florida Department of Transportation, "Context Classifications," (2017). http://www.flcompletestreets.com/files/FDOT-context-classification.pdf