Can you guess this U.S. city? Look at all those cars – stopping, waiting for me to cross!

This isn’t even a ‘great’ crosswalk, but those two stripes of paint tell drivers to stop and wait for people crossing. It gives a person trying to get to the other side a sense of confidence, calm or ease that feels so foreign to too many pedestrians here in Miami.

There are lots of kinds of crosswalks. The best ones are clearly marked, often raised, and laid out at each side of every intersection. Here are some examples:

At this NYC intersection, you can cross the street from all four sides!

Raised Crosswalks, or Speed Tables, are more visible to drivers of cars and trucks and are ideal for traffic speeds under 35. Their implementation has been shown to reduce typical speeds, noise levels and (wait for it) crashes and collisions.

Crosswalks don’t always need to be fancy to be respected – though local cultures that care for life over speed does encourage compliance. Tampa Police have been cracking down on unsafe driving through crosswalks after their city surpassed Miami and Jacksonville for top ranking in pedestrian fatalities. You cannot ticket someone for driving through a crosswalk that doesn’t exist, however.

There are many, many different kinds of crosswalks. They work best when they are clearly marked and visible and are implemented into street design that promotes traffic calming in a variety of ways. Traffic calming measures include narrower lanes, the inclusion of bicycle facilities, reduced posted speeds, traffic lights that change frequently, minimal crossing distances and sometimes pedestrian islands.
Pedestrian Islands are placed in wide, multi-lane streets where it may be difficult for some people to cross the whole street at a single traffic signal. They can be decorative and incorporated into medians but their fundamental purpose is to make crossing easier and safer for anybody.

Abbey Road: Would such a narrow road even get a single stripe from our DOTs? Crosswalks encourage responsible behavior from people on foot and in cars. They remind you that you are not on the expressway, but in a place where people live, work and do business. Crosswalks have been shown to save lives, too. How much to they cost to install? On average, a couple thousand dollars. Pedestrian islands and mid-block crosswalks can cost much more but costs are typically reduced when incorporated into larger projects.

What do your local intersections look like? Are there crosswalks? Why not submit a picture to TransitMiami.com or write your own piece for Community Commentary? The first step to taking back the street is paying attention.