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Crosswalk Design 172 173
Standard Crosswalks Enhanced Crosswalks
Well-designed crosswalks are key to maintaining Boston’s status as a pedestrian-friendly city. While most of Boston’s intersections have marked crosswalks at each approach, specific locations can be specially marked to emphasize unique pedestrian desire lines. Examples include a wide crosswalk across the Greenway connecting South Station to the Financial District, and a diagonal crosswalk connecting the Park Plaza area to the Boston Common. In Boston’s neighborhoods, crosswalks are located to provide safe access to jobs, homes, and destinations such as local institutions, parks, and housing for the elderly. Safety for all pedestrians, especially for those with disabilities, is the single most important criteria informing crosswalk design. Crosswalks help guide pedestrians to locations where they should cross the street as well as inform drivers of pedestrian movements. In addition to intersections, crosswalks are used in locations where pedestrians may not be expected, such as at mid-block crossings or uncontrolled crossings (crossings where motorists do not have signals or stop signs).
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This section describes Boston’s Standard and Enhanced crosswalk designs. As the pace of innovation and technology advances, new techniques and treatments should be considered and tested in order to maximize safety and accessibility.
Crosswalk designs must be approved by BTD and PWD, in consultation with the Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities.
BOSTON TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
2013
BOSTON COMPLETE STREETS GUIDELINES
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