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Raised Crosswalks Help In Traffic Calming Situations
by Bill MacDermott.
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This stop-animation Streetfilm illustrates the advantages of adding a raised crosswalk.
Raised crosswalks are Speed Tables outfitted with crosswalk markings and signage to channelize pedestrian crossings, providing pedestrians with a level street crossing. Also, by raising the level of the crossing, pedestrians are more visible to approaching motorists.
Raised crosswalks are good for locations where pedestrian crossings occur at haphazard locations and vehicle speeds are excessive.
A cute but educational video.... http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/raised-crosswalk/
John McGovern said
Creating infrastructure that facilitates pedestrians, rather than hindering their movement, ought to be a priority in Northeast Ohio. This is especially true in areas where density or the prevelance of mixed use development necessitates accomodations to those traveling on foot. Downtown and the commercial districts of many Cleveland neighborhoods and inner ring suburbs would meet this criteria.
I've seen the raised crosswalk employed quite effectively at several airports, in the area where passengers are moving across heavy and unpredictable traffic to navigate towards shuttle busses, rental cars, mass transit, etc.
Here in Greater Cleveland, the Coventry area employs slight raised and lighted (blinking yellow) crosswalks to faciltate and highlight the movement of pedestrians. This is especially effective at night, which is fitting for Coventry. Crosswalks in Brooklyn, OH are painted bright blue. This is very effective in highlighting the area in which those on foot are given preference within the paved right of way. A rectangular crosswalk colored inside with bright blue paint, makes it very obvious to drivers, when they are encroaching on the pedestrian's right of way. This is important to note as vehicle encroachment into crosswalks is a chronic problem in Northeast Ohio, perhaps because cars have been the dominant form of transporation, roughly since the demise of the street car lines in 1953.