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 The safe
transportation for every pedestrian (STEP) program the Federal Highway Administration is promoting in Every Day Counts round four (EDC-4) includes five proven countermeasures to get pedestrians safely across the road at uncontrolled crossing locations.
- Crosswalk visibility enhancements, such as crosswalk lighting and enhanced signing and marking, help drivers detect pedestrians.
- Raised crosswalks are a traffic-calming technique that can reduce vehicle speeds and encourage drivers to yield to pedestrians.
- Pedestrian
refuge islands provide a safer place for pedestrians to stop at the midpoint of the road before crossing the remaining distance, which is particularly helpful for pedestrians with limited mobility.
- Pedestrian
hybrid beacons provide a stop control treatment at locations where pedestrian volumes aren’t high enough to warrant a traffic signal. They are a useful device for higher speed multilane roads.
- Road
diets, also an EDC-3 innovation, reconfigure a roadway cross-section to better accommodate all users’ needs. It can reduce vehicle speeds and the number of lanes pedestrians need to cross and create space to add new pedestrian facilities.
See FHWA’s
Proven Safety Countermeasures Web page for more information on STEP countermeasures and strategies to improve pedestrian safety.
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