http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov

FHWA Safety Program

Pedestrian Countermeasure Policy 

Best Practice Report
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Overview

Safety is the number one priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation 

(USDOT) and it’s the agency’s policy to provide safe and effective pedestrian 

accommodation wherever possible. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 

encourages the use of specific proven pedestrian safety countermeasures that 

can help achieve local, State and National safety goals. 

One such countermeasure is raised medians. FHWA’s Safety Office has 

encouraged the consideration of raised medians in curbed sections of multilane 

roadways in urban and suburban areas, particularly in areas with a combination 

of high volumes of traffic,1 a significant number of pedestrians, and intermediate 

or high travel speeds.2 Another proven countermeasure is the use of walkways/

paved shoulders. FHWA’s Office of Safety has promoted the evidence-based 

safety benefits of accessible sidewalks or walkways along both sides of streets and 

highways in urban areas—particularly near school zones and transit locations—

and where there is frequent pedestrian activity. This report highlights State 

departments of transportation (DOTs) that have developed policies related to 

these countermeasures. The provision of paved shoulders is encouraged in rural 

areas.

Photo Credit: Various sources from New York Sate Dept of Transportation

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Medians and Refuge Islands

Florida, New York and Oregon

Medians and refuge islands are treatments that exist in all DOT roadway designers’ toolboxes. 

Many communities are installing raised medians for traffic control reasons: to reduce crashes 

and to improve flow along the roadway. Other communities install medians as part of aesthetic 

improvement projects to provide room for landscaping. However, some are installing median 

islands specifically to aid in pedestrian crossings of busy roadways. 

Three examples of agencies that have implemented policies and plans promoting the inclusion 

of median islands for pedestrians are Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) New York 

State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and the Oregon Department of Transportation 

(ODOT). Florida has a policy that requires the use of median islands on all divided highways with 

the stated purpose of improving pedestrian safety. New York and Oregon’s design documents 

promote, but do not require, the installation of medians for pedestrians.

Florida: Multilane Facility Median Policy

In response to research conducted on access management by the University of Florida2 and 

Georgia DOT (GDOT)3, FDOT promoted the use of raised/restrictive medians. Below is an excerpt 

from the FDOT Multilane Facility Median Policy:

All multilane facilities shall be designed with a raised or restrictive median except four-lane sections with design 

speeds of 40 mph or less. Facilities having design speeds of 40 mph or less are to include sections of raised or 

restrictive median for enhancing vehicular and pedestrian safety, improving traffic efficiency, and attainment of the 

standards of the Access Management Classification of that highway system.4

New York: Pedestrian Refuge Islands and Medians Policy

As part of its Highway Design Manual, NYSDOT included a chapter on pedestrian facility design 

to help minimize pedestrian exposure issues. Below is an excerpt from the pedestrian facility 

design chapter that addresses refuge islands and medians:

A pedestrian refuge island is located in or near a pedestrian crossing to aid and protect pedestrians crossing a 

roadway. On wide streets, a median refuge can provide a safe location for those who begin crossing too late or are 

only capable of walking exceptionally slow... Pedestrian refuge islands or medians can also be used at intersections 

or midblock locations with shorter crossing distances, where a need has been recognized.

Medians that are intended as pedestrian refuge islands must be accessible to all pedestrians, including those with 

disabilities. The dimensions of a pedestrian refuge island should be determined by the expected pedestrian storage 

and crosswalk level of service criteria.5
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Oregon: Raised Medians Policy

In response to the FHWA report, Safety Effects of Marked versus Unmarked Crosswalks at 

Uncontrolled Intersections,

6 which supported the efficacy of midblock crossings to enhance 

pedestrian safety, ODOT developed the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan7 which included 

recommendations for raised medians. Below is an excerpt from the Oregon Bicycle and 

Pedestrian Plan:

These [raised medians] benefit pedestrians on two-way, multilane streets, as they allow pedestrians to cross only 

one direction of traffic at a time: it takes much longer to cross four lanes of traffic than two. Where raised medians 

are used for access management, they should be constructed so they provide a pedestrian refuge. Where it is not 

possible to provide a continuous raised median, island refuges can be created between intersections and other 

accesses.

These should be located across from high pedestrian generators such as schools, park entrances, libraries, parking 

lots, etc. In most instances, the width of the raised median is the width of the center turn-lane, minus the necessary 

shy distance on each side. Ideally, raised medians should be constructed with a smooth, traversable surface, such as 

brick pavers. If a median is landscaped, the plants should be low enough so they do not obstruct visibility, and spaced 

far enough apart to allow passage by pedestrians.8

The Impetus for the Policies

In Florida, the DOT was responding to research showing that the crash rates where there were 

restrictive medians on urban multilane highways was 25% lower than those with center turn lanes 

in an evaluation. A GDOT study confirmed the safety advantage of raised medians over two-way 

left turn lanes—it reviewed crash statistics for all of the divided highways on the State Highway 

System and found that overall (intersections plus midblock locations) raised medians had 78 

percent fewer pedestrian fatalities per 100 miles of road.9

New York State DOT (NYSDOT) implemented a design policy to help minimize pedestrian exposure 

issues as well as to conform to the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials 

(AASHTO) Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities (Pedestrian 

Guide). The AASHTO Pedestrian Guide discusses the benefits of providing pedestrian median 

refuge islands at signalized and unsignalized intersections and at midblock locations.

As mentioned above Oregon DOT (ODOT) adopted its policy on the basis a University of 

North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center report entitled Safety Effects of Marked versus 

Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Intersections.

10 In this report, it was found that the presence 

of a raised median provided significantly greater protection on both marked and unmarked 

crossings on multi-lane roads compared to no median, reducing pedestrian crashes almost 50% 

on roadways with 15,000 ADT.

Overcoming Resistance to the Policies

At FDOT, resistance to implementing the policy was reported in two different ways. When the 

policy was being implemented, there was concern that projects already in the pipeline would 

have to ‘go back to the drawing board.’ This concern was mitigated by deciding that the policy 

would be implemented for future projects, not projects already in process. 
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The other challenge to installing medians comes from businesses owners who are concerned 

about reduced access to their businesses. FDOT has taken a very strong position to coordinate 

with the public and affected business owners as much as possible during the planning of 

restrictive medians. 

To assist in policy implementation once it was adopted, FDOT added the median design 

standards directly into the Plans Preparation Manual.

11 This has proven to be much more 

beneficial than to simply make it part of an access management program because it puts it 

“in the book” designers use on all of their design projects. FDOT also included language that 

supports putting in median portions even where it’s not possible to put in full medians. This makes 

the inclusion of raised medians automatic and failure to include them requires a reason. 

ODOT has had some challenges to implementing their median policy; these challenges have 

been primarily in response to impacts on motor vehicle operations, specifically wide load vehicles 

in the trucking industry. Oregon has found that medians have a ‘break in’ period of acceptance. 

A new median generates about six months of opposition and complaints then the community 

gets used to it and it is viewed as a positive addition. Oregon has found an effective way to 

foster acceptance of the treatment is to install one and let the community experience it. Once 

experienced, it is easier to encourage other communities to install them, as they understand the 

benefits first hand.

Funding

Funding for medians comes in a variety of forms. In Oregon, if the median is part of the normal 

capital improvement program it is included as part of the budget. If it is being added as a 

separate project, other sources of funds are used, such as bike/pedestrian money, Transportation 

Enhancement (TE) money or Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. In 

New York, highway improvement and HSIP funds are used, and these projects compete with all 

other improvements. In Florida, most medians are constructed using the same funds as roadway 

construction.

Benefits of Medians

Adding medians and refuge islands can increase both pedestrian and motor vehicle safety, 

helping to solve multiple challenges faced by DOTs. They do this by allowing pedestrians to cross 

one direction of traffic at a time—often allowing them to focus on just two to three lanes rather 

than having to anticipate traffic for the entire width of the road. They also provide a space to 

install improved lighting at pedestrian crossing locations. Improved lighting has been shown to 

reduce nighttime pedestrian fatalities at crossings by 78 percent.12

Raised medians provide additional benefits above and beyond reducing pedestrian crashes, 

including the following:

•	Reducing motor vehicle crashes by 15 percent13

•	Decreasing delays (>30%) for motorists

•	 Increasing capacity (>30%) of roadways14

•	Reducing vehicle speeds on the roadway15

•	 Providing space for landscaping within the right-of-way
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Walkways and Shoulders

New York and Oregon

For most State DOTs, sidewalks are the preferred pedestrian treatment. Shoulders are used 

primarily in rural areas. For States that do have policies requiring paved shoulders, many cite 

operational, maintenance and safety benefits as reasons for the shoulder policies. Oftentimes, 

paved shoulders are required as bicycle accommodations. Two examples of agencies with 

policies and plans promoting walkways and shoulders are the NYSDOT and ODOT. 

New York: Shoulder Policy

In New York, Pedestrians are permitted to use the shoulders of most State highways, with the 

exception of interstates, parkways, and other similar controlled-access highways where they are 

specifically prohibited. Below is an excerpt from the pedestrian facilities design chapter that 

defines when shoulders should be included:

When accommodation of pedestrian travel is warranted, then pedestrian facilities should be provided. The preferred 

facility for pedestrian travel along a road is a sidewalk. 

Shoulders are not substitutes for a well-designed pedestrian facility. However, there may occasionally be a need to 

design shoulders as walkways where roadside space is constrained...When shoulders will be used as pedestrian 

facilities, the designer should decide whether it is practicable for pedestrians to walk facing traffic or if provisions 

should be made for them to walk in either direction along one side of the road. The decision should be based on 

safety, e.g., the ability to cross the road safely, and other considerations.16

Oregon: Walkway Policy

In 1971, the State of Oregon legislature passed the “Bike Bill”17 ushering in a new era of nonmotorized facility construction. The following is an excerpt from the Oregon State Bicycle and 

Pedestrian plan on the different types of walkways:

Rural Walkways

In sparsely populated areas, the shoulders of rural 

roads usually accommodate pedestrians. There are, 

however, roadways outside urban areas where the urban 

character creates a need for sidewalks...Where sidewalks 

are not provided, shoulders should be wide enough to 

accommodate both pedestrians and bicyclists.

Urban Walkways

The appropriate facilities for pedestrians are sidewalks. A 

sidewalk provides positive separation from traffic, an allweather surface and access for the disabled. They are 

readily identifiable by both pedestrians and motorists.

Arterials and Major Collectors

Sidewalks must be provided on both sides of all arterial and collector streets, unless there are physical limitations and 

land use characteristics that render a sidewalk unsuitable on one side. 

Minor Collectors and Local Streets

Sidewalks on both sides of the street are the appropriate facility. There is a point below which sidewalks on both sides 

of a local street may not be critical: e.g. on short dead-end streets with few potential residences and with no access to 

other facilities.18

Photo Credit: Jennifer Bartlett
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In addition NYSDOT and ODOT have policies and plans promoting walkways, Pennsylvania 

Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has adopted design standards specifically to make 

shoulders accessible. Along some roadways, sidewalks are not feasible and pedestrian use is 

expected to be only occasional. While some transportation agencies install paved shoulders 

along these roadways, PennDOT is going the extra mile for pedestrians. To better provide for 

pedestrians who may need to walk on these shoulders, PennDOT is constructing the shoulders 

to be compliant with the (draft) Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines.19 Cross slopes are 

being kept to a 2% maximum and detectable warning strips are being installed at crosswalks.

The Impetus for the Policies

New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) Highway Design Manual includes 

considerations that designers need to make for pedestrian friendly shoulders when shoulders will 

be used as pedestrian facilities. The policy and its implementing design standards are intended 

to address the requirements of the Title 23 CFR 652.5 which requires pedestrians to be given full 

consideration on all Federal Aid projects.

The goal of Oregon’s “Bike Bill”20 was to create safer bicycling facilities across the state but the Bill 

also requires the construction of sidewalks or walkways when a road is built or rebuilt.

Overcoming Resistance to the Policies

In New York, there were two primary concerns: availability of required right-of-way and crossslope. Resistance to implementing the policy came from the regional designers who are 

responsible for designing the shoulders. In some cases, where there is very limited right-of-way 

and significant slopes to swales adjacent to the roadway, it is felt to be impractical to add 

pavement. When such a determination is made, the New York policy states the reasons should 

be fully documented in the Project Scoping Report/Design Report. There were also drainage 

concerns as the cross slope for a paved shoulder is typically six percent but when the shoulders 

are being installed for pedestrian use, the allowed cross slope is two percent. There was concern 

that the minimal cross slope could impede water flow across the shoulder allowing sediment to 

accumulate resulting in the loss of a usable shoulder. These operational concerns have been 

mitigated over time with implementation of two percent as the standard across the country.

In Oregon, resistance has been primarily budgetary. When a roadway is being resurfaced, only 

the travel lanes may be repaved. Resurfacing or pavement preservation projects are tracked 

using dollars/mile. Adding or resurfacing shoulders decreases the miles of resurfacing that can 

be implemented within the available budget. Likewise, the policy of maintenance paving offers 

no incentive to add shoulders. If lane miles paved is one of an agency’s performance measures, 

and adding shoulders does not increase miles paved, the agency is essentially penalized for 

paving shoulders. While these budgetary concerns are quite valid, they can be overcome by 

the wide range of benefits that paved shoulders and walkways can provide—such as reducing 

pedestrian crashes and reducing shoulder maintenance requirements.
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Funding

These countermeasures are funded on all levels, using local, state and federal money as 

appropriate. In New York, roadway resurfacing is funded by standard highway funds and 

shoulders are included as routine elements for design and inclusion in projects.

The bulk of the money funding projects for ODOT goes to pavement preservation, not new 

facilities, and resurfacing jobs do not typically add sidewalks. Sidewalk facilities are often funded 

by grants from the agency and the agency will favor communities that include sidewalks in their 

plans and show an emphasis on pedestrian safety. 

It seems also that the cost of including shoulders in design plans is accepted as part of the 

project. The exception to this is circumstances where there is pressure to cut budgets or where 

performance measures may penalize the inclusion of the facility.
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For more information and resources on pedestrian and bicycle safety, please visit:

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/

Benefits of Walkways and Shoulders

Walkways and shoulders create safer pedestrian environments. Pedestrians killed 

while “walking along the roadway” account for almost 8 percent of all pedestrians 

killed in traffic crashes.21 Many of these tragedies are preventable. Providing 

walkways separated from the travel lanes could help to prevent up to 88 percent of 

these “walking along roadway” crashes.22 Widening paved shoulders also provides 

numerous safety benefits for motorists as well as benefits for pedestrians including:

•	Reducing numerous crash types23

» Head on crashes (15%-75% reported reduction)

» Sideswipe crashes (15%-41%)

» Fixed object crashes (29%-49%)

» Pedestrian “walking along roadway” crashes (71%)

•	 Improving roadway drainage

•	 Increasing effective turning radii at intersections

•	Reducing shoulder maintenance requirements

•	 Providing emergency stopping space for broken down vehicles

•	 Providing space for maintenance operations and snow storage

•	 Providing an increased level of comfort for bicyclists24
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Endnotes

1 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven Safety 

Countermeasures (Washington, DC: July 2008). http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/memo071008/

2 G. Long, G. Cheng-Tin, and B. Morrison, Safety Impacts of Selected Median and Access Design Features (Gainsville, FL: University of Florida, 1993).

3 P.S. Parsonson, M. G. Waters III, and J. S. Fincher, “Georgia Study Confirms the Continuing Safety Advantage of Raised Medians Over Two-Way Left-Turn 

Lanes” (presented at the Fourth National Conference on Access Management, Portland, Oregon, August 13-16, 2000).

http://www.accessmanagement.info/pdf/AM00PAPR.pdf

4 Florida Department of Transportation, “Median Opening Placement Principles,” in Median Handbook Interim Version (Tallahassee, FL: 2006), pp. 26-28. 

(Tallahassee, FL: 2003). See also, Florida Department of Transportation, “2. Design Geometrics and Criteria,” in Plans Preparation Manual,Volume 1 

(Tallahassee, FL: 2006), pp.2-19-2-20. http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/systems/sm/accman/pdfs/mhb06b.pdf

5 New York Department of Transportation, Highway Design Manual, “Pedestrian Refuge Islands and Medians,” pp. 18-49.

https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/design/dqab/hdm/hdm-repository/chapt_18.pdf 

6 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Safety Effects of Marked versus Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations: Final 

Report and Recommended Guidelines, FHWA-HRT-04-100 (Washington, DC: 2005). http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/04100/

7 Oregon Department of Transportation, “Part 2, Section II.5.C.2.a Raised Medians,” in 1995 Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (Salem, OR: 1995),

p. 108. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/bp_plan_2_ii.pdf

8 Ibid.

9 P.S. Parsonson, M. G. Waters III, and J. S. Fincher, “Georgia Study Confirms the Continuing Safety Advantage of Raised Medians Over Two-Way Left-Turn 

Lanes” (presented at the Fourth National Conference on Access Management, Portland, Oregon, August 13-16, 2000).

http://www.accessmanagement.info/pdf/AM00PAPR.pdf

10 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Safety Effects of Marked versus Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations: Final 

Report and Recommended Guidelines, FHWA-HRT-04-100 (Washington, DC: 2005). http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/04100/

11 Florida Department of Transportation, Plans Preparation Manual, Topic #625-000-007 (Tallahassee, FL: 2011).

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/rddesign/PPMManual/PPM.shtm

12 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Desktop Reference for Crash Reduction Factors, FHWA-SA-07-015 (Washington, DC, 

September 2007).

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.
11

15 M. King, “Pedestrian Safety through a Raised Median and Redesigned Intersections,” (paper presented at the TRB 2003 Annual Meeting held in 

Washington, DC, 2004).

16 New York State Department of Transportation, “Ch 18.6.2 Use of Shoulders as Pedestrian Facilities,” in Highway Design Manual, (Albany, NY: 2006), p. 

18-20. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/design/dqab/hdm/hdm-repository/chapt_18.pdf

17 State of Oregon, “The Bike Bill,” Oregon Revised Statute (2009), sec 366.514. https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/366.514

18 Oregon Department of Transportation, “I.2.B.2.c Urban Bikeways,” and “I.2.B.2.d Urban Walkways,” in 1995 Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, p.52-53. 

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/bp_plan_2.pdf

19 U.S. Access Board, “Public Rights-of-Way” web page. http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/

20 State of Oregon, “The Bike Bill” (2009).

21 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes of the Early 1990’s, FHWA-RD-95-163 (Washington, 

DC: 1995).

22 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, An Analysis of Factors Contributing to “Walking Along Roadway” Crashes: Research 

Study and Guidelines for Sidewalks and Walkways, FHWA-RD-01-101 (Washington D.C., 2001).

23 Florida Department of Transportation, Update of Florida Crash Reduction Factors and Countermeasures to Improve the Development of District Safety 

Improvement Projects (Tallahassee, FL, 2005). http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Summary_SF/FDOT_BD015_04_rpt.pdf

24 Dowling, Reinke, et al., NCHRP Report 616, Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets, Transportation Research Board of the National 

Academies, Project 3-70 (Washington D.C., 2008). 
For More Information:

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

FHWA, Office of Safety

Tamara Redmon

tamara.redmon@dot.gov

202-366-4077

FHWA-SA-11-017