Midblock crosswalks are typically installed in areas with high pedestrian traffic1, and major destinations such as schools, transit stops, or shopping centers. The crosswalks are always marked and can be enhanced with medians, lightings, curb extensions, signals, and signs.2 They are installed in specified places where it is easy for pedestrians to cross the roadway between vehicular crossings to encourage better and safer pedestrian mobility.3 The installation of midblock crosswalks is considered to allow pedestrians to cross at non-intersections without harming themselves.4
How it Helps
The construction of medians or midblock crosswalks will give pedestrians a safer and more visible alternative to crossing a roadway, rather than at a random and frequently dangerous position.2 In turn, this can reduce the risk of traffic violence between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users.
Implementing
Crossing Design:
The design of midblock crosswalks is dependent on the nature of the road. Midblock crosswalks should be kept simple on roads with low pedestrian traffic and speeds up to 30 miles per hour and may not need signals or specific traffic control systems. However, when the distance between junctions expands, as does the speed and volume of traffic, and midblock crosswalks may necessitate the deployment of additional control devices.5
Use of Crossing or Staggered Treatments:
The use of crossing or staggered treatments is another method implemented to make midblock crosswalks more functional and safer. This happens when a crosswalk is divided by a median and offset on each side of the median. This causes the pedestrian to turn in the median and approach oncoming vehicles before turning again to complete the crossing. One disadvantage of staggered crosswalks is that they might throw visually impaired people off course due to variations in the direction of the pathway leading to the road. However, one alternative is providing rails or detectable indications to reorient the pedestrian to the roadway right before crossing the street.5
Median Island:
Medians or refuge islands may be required to support pedestrians in crossing safely. A median is a strip of land that divides opposing traffic and may stretch for many blocks. If median islands are included in the design of these crosswalks, they will create a safe halt in the center of the road, enabling pedestrians to keep an eye out for vehicles approaching from just one way at a time.5
Challenges:
Individuals with visual impairments often cannot detect if there is a break in traffic or if all vehicles in approaching lanes have stopped if a midblock crossing is not signalized. This is because the sound of one idling vehicle might obscure the sound of oncoming vehicles. Also, they are often unable to discern when it is their time to cross the street since their customary cue at junctions—the surge of vehicles in the street opposite them—is absent.5 Additionally, turning cars at the downstream junction may encounter extra delays if the midblock crossing is treated as an intersection.1
Examples
1) Best Foot Forward for Pedestrians
Best Foot Forward is a leading organization dedicated to decreasing major pedestrian injuries and deaths via education, engineering, enforcement, and assessment. Best Food Forward is a pedestrian safety project that aims to get automobiles to yield and stop for walkers at marked crosswalks. Best Foot Forward partners choose several crosswalks to monitor and enforce each year. They are all responsible for keeping our roads safe and saving lives.
2) APTOCOINER
APTOCOINER is one of India’s most prominent traffic survey companies. They are experts in performing midblock pedestrian crossing analysis, which assists engineering companies in designing legal and safer midblock crossings. They offer easy crossing blocks for pedestrians in places with few intersections on a long stretch of road.
1. Zhao, J., et al. (2017). Optimal design of midblock crosswalk to achieve trade-off between vehicles and pedestrians. Journal of transportation engineering, Part A: Systems, 1431.
2. Aptocoiner. (2020). Mid-block pedestrian crossing analysis [cited 2022 Jun 29]. Available from: https://www.aptocoineranalytics.com/post/mid-block-pedestrian-crossing-analysis
3. Larsen, P. Chapter 6.1 Community Health and Safety: Mid-block Pedestrian Crossings. Sustainable Development Code. [cited 2022 Jun 29]. Available from: https://sustainablecitycode.org/brief/mid-block-pedestrian-crossings/
4. Applied Information. (2019). How to Design Effective Mid-Block Traffic Crossings. [cited 2022 Jun 29]. Available from: https://appinfoinc.com/how-to-design-effective-mid-block-traffic-crossings/
5. University of Connecticut. (2014). The When, Where and How of Mid-Block Crosswalks. CTI Technology Transfer Center.