23 May Raised medians and pedestrian safety
One of the concerns about Boundary Street we hear the most is that raised medians are dangerous. Councilman Murray did some research that you might find interesting.
“I’ve had several conversations about the Boundary St. project and it seems the largest heartburn for most folks are the raised medians. Some are worried about emergency vehicle access, others about making an easy left turn into their favorite business. Almost all don’t understand the safety and traffic flow component. I’ve been doing a little digging and thought some of the stats below might help us educate those who don’t understand why we’re putting in raised medians.
Federal Highway Admin brochure on raised medians and pedestrian safety:
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/medians_brochure/
1. Pedestrian crash risk for crossing arterial road without a median was 6.48 times higher than for crossing the arterial with a median.
2.Pedestrian crashes account for about 12 percent of all traffic fatalities annually. Over 75 percent of these fatalities occur at non-intersection locations.
3. Raised medians have been found to reduce motor vehicle crashes by 15 percent.
4.Raised medians decrease delays (>30 percent) for motorists.
5.Raised medians have resulted in increase in capacity (>30 percent) of roadways.