Walk Miami - Making Crosswalks More Visible to Pedestrians and Drivers

Walk Miami – More Visible Crosswalk Markings

Posted by Adam Mizrahi On November - 9 - 2009

This article is part of a series titled Walk Miami attempting to shed light on the unresponsive and unwalkable pedestrian landscape of Downtown Miami. As downtown continues to grow with new residents and businesses, it is important to ensure the safety and enjoyment of pedestrians on city streets.

In a previous post I wrote about the disregard for crosswalks by drivers in Downtown Miami. This got me thinking about the efficacy and visibility of our marked crosswalks here. Many of the marked crosswalks in the downtown core and across important intersections are drawn with standard lines (two parallel lines) that in many cases are indiscernible from the stop line and other traffic lines on the ground. There is also little use of highly visible and clearly marked zebra, ladder, or continental markings. This is perhaps why drivers often stop over the last line of the crosswalk, rather than at the stop line before the crosswalk as they are mandated by law. Or why pedestrians often ignore the proper use of crosswalks. I must be honest, I for many years routinely ignored or did not notice these simple and easily missed lines.

Unlike clearly visible zebra or ladder lines, standard parallel lines are easily lost in the jumble of traffic markings that make up a street. In an autocentric and fast moving city like Miami where the crosswalk line has been more of a formality than an actual tool, parallel lines have not been efficient at visualizing the location of a crosswalk to speeding drivers and pedestrians. In anything but a low intensity and narrow situation, drivers can routinely be seen ignoring the existence of crosswalks. In important and high traffic (both pedestrian and automotive) thoroughfares such as Biscayne Boulevard and Brickell Avenue in downtown, where drivers are often zooming by at 40+ miles an hour, poorly marked crosswalks are often and understandably ignored.

A study by the New York Department Of Transportation discusses just how much more efficient more visible markings are at ensuring proper driver and pedestrian use of crosswalks. According to the report:

To evaluate the effectiveness of markings in keeping vehicles out of the crosswalk area, a limited survey was conducted at three intersections in lower Manhattan. Except for the marking type, all of the sites were similar in terms of direction, volume, lanes, and turning movements. The stopping locations of 72 total vehicles were noted.

The ladder crosswalk was the most effective marking for keeping vehicles out of the crosswalk area. While only 20 percent of vehicles at the unmarked crosswalk and 23 percent at the standard double line (parallel line) crosswalk stopped behind the crosswalk area, 59 percent of vehicles at the ladder crosswalk stopped at the appropriate location. Additionally, drivers did not seriously encroach upon the ladder crosswalk (7 percent) as much as the others (31 percent at the double line crosswalk and 60 percent at the unmarked crosswalk). A stop line would likely improve driver behavior further. The marked crosswalks also provided greater room for pedestrian platoons where it was needed the most, in crosswalks.

The following are two images I took a few days ago at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and NE 3rd Street in a 5 minute period. Each image shows the failure of parallel lines at delineating a safe and understandable space for pedestrians to cross the street. (It is important to note that Biscayne Boulevard at this point in downtown is a major thoroughfare dividing the city on the west from the waterfront in the east. The waterfront has a major recreational and tourist component with a growing number of pedestrians that includes a park, an amphitheater, a popular bayfront mall, and much more.)

Parallel Lines and Drivers

Parallel Lines and Pedestrians

One can see the crosswalk marked by two parallel lines (right) and a stop line to the left of it. The top image shows a driver who stopped directly on the crosswalk. The driver completely ignored (or was unaware) of the stop line (the parallel line on the left). The bottom image shows the same intersection less than five minutes later. In this case, it is the pedestrians who do not know the boundaries of the crosswalk. The pedestrian on the left understandably seems to believe that the crosswalk is between the stop line and the first line of the crosswalk. This of course is a case that plays out day after day.

Whether or not this situation creates a dangerous condition is debatable. What is obvious nevertheless is that crosswalks as they are currently marked are not being used properly by either drivers or pedestrians in Miami — especially across important and dangerous streets. With the images above, one can see how pedestrians and drivers easily misunderstand the marking on the floors. The stop line looks no different from the standard parallel crosswalk lines — there is little to differentiate the first set of lines from the second set.

This is perhaps why many of the important streets and pedestrian intersections of New York City and Philadelphia are marked with improved crosswalk markings. One can go to Google Maps to scan the streets of Manhattan or South Philly and see a considerable network of ladder, continental, and zebra crosswalks.

In a city like Miami where tourists abound and more and more people walk every day, things should be the same. As shown in the images above, the use of standard crosswalks is insufficient across major thoroughfares. This situation invites confusion and misuse of the crosswalk. Miami is full of out of town drivers who barely understand our signs and residents who are unaccustomed to sharing the road with pedestrians. An important thoroughfare dividing the city from the waterfront, such as Biscayne Boulevard, should have clearly marked, efficient, and highly visible markings to complement other measures that include signage, lighting, and physical traffic calming measures.

According to the 2025 Downtown Miami Master Plan, the DDA hopes to transform Biscayne Boulevard and Brickell Avenue into walkable and diverse pedestrian destinations. If this is the case, planners must reinforce what the new emphasis of these streets will be. For decades, the purpose and goal of street planners for these important thoroughfares has been to move traffic as fast and efficiently as possible. Unfortunately though, such goals are incongruent with ideas of creating a shopping and dining destination in the fashion of Las Ramblas, as planners hope to do for Biscayne Boulevard.

If planners really hope to turn our waterfront thoroughfare into a world class destination, they must realize that part of the traffic currently on these streets will have to be rerouted through the city. Other traffic will dissipate asMiami continues the move towards more transit, bicycling, and walking. In any case, the current use of our pristine waterfront is a waste. Eight to ten lanes of traffic plus 100+ feet of surface parking is not an ideal condition for a pedestrian friendly, vibrant, and active urban waterfront threshold.

Greater emphasis must be placed on balancing motorist and pedestrian rights – a more balanced use of the road that brings more safety, spaces, and rights to pedestrians must be struck. If Biscayne Boulevard is to become a place where people come to see and be seen, then it must have the spaces, conditions, and experiences that makes people feel safe and comfortable. As it stands now, Biscayne Boulevardand Brickell Avenue are no different than a game of Frogger.