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Raised Crossings reduce crashes with pedestrians by 45% and
provide accessibility for people with mobility and visually impairments.
Improving access and safety can be challenging, particularly in conflict zones, however, raised crossings are an incredibly cost effective design that delivers safety, day and night, reducing the risk of severe injury and death by slowing vehicles through conflict zones, making people more visible because they are slightly higher, and delivering accessibility for all ages and abilities. Raised crossings eliminate puddling of ice, snow, slush and water that can be found at the base of curb ramps, and that can hinder mobility. Raised crossings benefit everyone, and can contribute to placemaking, but particularly benefit people in wheelchairs, pushing strollers, or rolling suitcases.
Raised Intersections help transform conflict zones into safe spaces for people walking, bicycling and driving!
Raised Intersections increase mobility and safety for people walking and rolling outside of a vehicle, by eliminating challenges navigating up and down off the curb and by making people more visible and the crossing environment more visible to drivers.
Raised intersections also calm traffic, so that drivers naturally driver more cautiously through the intersections, helping make these conflict zones safer for everyone.
Raised Pedestrian Crossings
Raised Pedestrian Crossings
Raised crosswalks or raised intersections are ramped speed tables spanning the entire width of the roadway or intersection. Raised crosswalks are often placed at midblock crossing locations and only the width of a crosswalk. The crosswalk is demarcated with paint and/or special paving materials, and curb ramps are eliminated because the pedestrians cross the road the same level as the sidewalk. Raised crossings make the pedestrian more prominent in the driver’s field of vision. Additionally, approach ramps may reduce vehicle speeds and improve motorist yielding. This countermeasure can reduce pedestrian crashes by 45%.
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection
The crosswalk table is typically at least 10 feet wide and designed to allow the front and rear wheels of a passenger vehicle to be on top of the table at the same time. Detectable warnings (truncated domes) and curb ramps are installed at the street edge for pedestrians with impaired vision. In addition to their use on local and collector streets, raised crosswalks can be installed in campus settings, shopping centers, and pick-up/drop-off zones (e.g., airports, schools, transit centers). On one street in Cambridge, MA, motorists yielding to pedestrians crossing at the raised devices increased from approximately 10 percent before installation of the project to 55 percent after installation.12
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection
Purpose
Purpose
Local and collector roads with high speeds pose a significant challenge for pedestrians crossing the roadway. Motorist reaction time is reduced at higher speeds, and additional measures may be needed to improve motorist speed and yielding compliance. Raised pedestrian crossings and intersections reduce vehicle speeds, reduce the need for curb ramps (though truncated domes should still be included), and enhance the pedestrian crossing environment.
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection
In a conversation with the Associate Vice President of Facilities and Operations of Miami of Ohio, the administrator indicated that installing a raised intersection at one of their main campus T-intersections in front of their student center made the intersection significantly safer for people walking and driving, and the raised intersection has not negatively impacted bus operations along that route or car travel.
Check out this short video of "Continuous Sidewalks" aka "Raised Crossings" from around the globe!
Federal Guidance suggests Raised Intersections are appropriate and effective improving mobility and safety in many environments - and can be used in conjunction with corner extensions / bulb-outs that shorten crossing distances.
3.15 Raised Intersection - Federal Guidance
3.15 Raised Intersection - Federal Guidance
DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL PURPOSE
A raised intersection is a flat, raised area covering an entire intersection with ramps on all approaches. It is essentially a speed table that covers an entire intersection, including the crosswalks (see Figure 3.15.1).
The purpose of a raised intersection is to slow vehicle traffic through the intersection and to improve safety for pedestrians. It has the advantage of calming two streets at once.
A raised intersection typically rises to sidewalk level.
A raised intersection is especially applicable in a dense urban area (see Figure 3.15.2). A typical installation is at a signal-controlled or all-way stop-controlled intersection with a large volume of street-crossing pedestrians. A raised intersection reinforces the need for a motorist to drive cautiously and be wary of crossing pedestrians.
The UPPER VALLEY LAKE SUNAPEE REGIONAL CORRIDOR TRANSPORTATION PLAN, adopted 1/11/2022, includes a raised crossing at Wheelock & College as a Tier 1 Project.
In July 2021 the Selectboard gave the greenlight to pursue improvements around the Green. All designs included six raised crossings - two mid-block raised crossings, like the one recently installed on College Street, and four raised intersections - one at each corner of the Green. See the original plan at the Hanover Bike Walk Around the Green page.
Fast forward to 2025, and the current proposal for the Hop intersection no longer contains a raised intersection.
2025.2.5 Hanover Bike Walk College St E Wheelock St Raised Intersection Letter.pdfLearn more about why Hanover Bike Walk supports a raised intersection
APPROPRIATE APPLICATION
Appropriate Application – Raised Intersection
Type of Street
Appropriate if there are existing crosswalks on all four legs of the intersection or if crosswalks are warranted
Appropriate for the intersection of collector, local, and residential subdivision streets
Can be appropriate in both a residential setting (see Figure 3.15.3) and in a commercial business district
Could be acceptable on a low-speed arterial in a downtown business district with significant pedestrian activity
Intersection or Roadway Segment
Placed at an intersection
Can be a T-intersection or multi-leg intersection
Roadway Cross-Section
Approach legs can be either one-way or two-way
Appropriate only with an urban cross-section (i.e., curb and gutter) that includes sidewalks on all sides of the intersection
Can include on-site parking on the approach legs
Appropriate if a bicycle facility passes through the intersection
Speed Limit
Maximum speed limit of 30 mph based on ITE Guidelines for the Design and Application of Speed Humps and some jurisdictions (e.g., South Carolina, Pennsylvania); others use a 35 mph maximum (e.g., Delaware)
Vehicle Traffic Volume
Appropriate if the daily traffic volume on each intersection approach is relatively low; example thresholds include Pennsylvania with a maximum of 10,000 vehicles per day and South Carolina which uses 4,000 on each leg in a residential setting and 6,000 on each leg in a commercial area
Emergency Route
Can be an appropriate application for a primary emergency vehicle route or on street that provides access to a hospital or emergency medical services
Transit Route
Can be an appropriate application for a bus transit route
Access Route
Generally not appropriate along the primary access to a commercial or industrial site
Grade
Can be installed on a crest vertical curve only if there is adequate stopping sight distance or if appropriate warning signs are provided
Maximum grade of 8 percent recommended in ITE Guidelines for the Design and Application of Speed Humps and used by some jurisdictions (e.g., Pennsylvania, South Carolina); Delaware uses a maximum of 6 percent; Minnesota uses a maximum of 5 percent
EFFECTS AND ISSUES
Effects and Issues – Raised Intersection
Vehicle Speed
A single raised intersection reduces 85th percentile speeds to the range of 25 to 35 mph when crossing the intersection; vehicle speeds at some distance from the intersection have not been shown to change appreciably
Vehicle Volume
As a single installation, there is little traffic diversion from the intersection
Pedestrian Safety and Mobility
Pedestrian safety is improved because a pedestrian is more visible to an oncoming motorist and the pedestrian has an elevated view of oncoming traffic (see Figure 3.15.4)
If the same height as the curb, the edge of the raised intersection should be differentiated with a tactile measure to warn a person with a visual impairment
Refer to Module 6 for additional discussion
Bicyclist Safety and Mobility
Should not be affected by a raised intersection unless pavers (or some other textured surface) are used
Motorist Safety and Mobility
Produces sufficient discomfort to a motorist driving above the raised intersection design speed to discourage speeding
Emergency Vehicle Safety and Mobility
A large emergency vehicle typically crosses a raised intersection at a slower speed than does a personal passenger motor vehicle
Refer to Module 5 for additional discussion
Large Vehicle Safety and Mobility
A larger vehicle typically crosses a raised intersection at a slower speed than does a personal passenger motor vehicle; a typical raised intersection delay for a large commercial vehicle is in the range of 2 to 6 seconds
Refer to Module 5 for additional discussion
Accessibility of Adjacent Property
Should not result in any change in accessibility to property along all legs of the intersection; on-street parking restrictions and driveway accessibility should be the same whether intersection is raised or level
Environment
Can serve as a form of gateway treatment at or near the entrance to an area for which traffic calming is desired
Traffic noise may increase from braking and acceleration of vehicles
Design Issues
Likely requires changes in access to below-ground utilities
Requires redesign of surface drainage structures that serve the intersection and approach legs
Hanover Bike Walk - College and East Wheelock.pdfFollow the history of public engagement for the downtown Hanover sidewalk and pedestrian plans through the Re-envisioning of S. Main and Phase II (Around the Green).
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