A pedestrian crossing, popularly called a zebra crossing, must strictly comply with GOST to guarantee pedestrians safe crossing of a busy highway. To make it easy to identify such a section on the road surface, special signs and markings were developed.
However, modern approaches to regulating traffic require significant changes to improve the safety of all participants. A number of adopted and expected innovations in traffic rules also affected state standards for pedestrian zones.
Classification of pedestrian crossings
Such a section of the road must be marked with markings or road signs indicating to the pedestrian that crossing the street here is not only permitted, but also safe.
According to traffic rules, a pedestrian must cross the highway only in a certain area specially equipped for this.
Today, the following types of crossings for pedestrian traffic participants are distinguished:
- Unregulated. Placed on roads not congested with cars. They are equipped with a non-working/turned off traffic light or do not have one at all.
- Adjustable. These include all crossings that are equipped with a working traffic light.
- Diagonal. They can be seen at intersections because they allow you to cross the street “obliquely.” They always have clear markings and are also required to be equipped with a traffic light operating normally.
- Off-street:
- above-ground (built above the roadway);
- underground (pass under the road surface).
Off-street crossings are the safest for passengers, unlike ground crossings. In addition, they significantly relieve congestion on the route, since drivers do not need to stop the vehicle to allow people to pass.
Classification [edit | edit code ]
Ground [edit | edit code]
A surface pedestrian crossing is an area used by pedestrians to cross to the other side of a roadway or railroad track. Indicated by zebra markings, as well as in other ways depending on the type and position.
Unregulated [ edit | edit code]
Unregulated pedestrian crossings are the simplest and cheapest. At such crossings, drivers of cars and other vehicles are required to give way to pedestrians. Unregulated crossings are made on small streets where the flow of cars is relatively small. In Russia, such crossings are indicated by signs 5.19 “Pedestrian crossing”. Unregulated crossings also include pedestrian crossings equipped with a traffic light, but the traffic light is turned off or operates with a flashing yellow signal.
Since the 2010s, at unregulated pedestrian crossings, especially in large cities with heavy traffic, additional means of marking the crossing have begun to be used:
- yellow-green reflective edging around the “Pedestrian crossing” sign
- duplicate sign above the roadway
- light animation of the sign
- pedestrian crossing area lighting
- flashing yellow lights
- "speed bump" before crossing
- noise stripes (4-5 small speed bumps at different distances, the closer to the crossing, the more often they are located) before the crossing
- additional orange stripes on the zebra crossing (between the white stripes)
Adjustable [ edit | edit code]
Adjustable pedestrian crossings are crossings equipped with a working traffic light that operates normally.
Most often, controlled pedestrian crossings are installed along road intersection lines, combining pedestrian and automobile traffic lights. There are controlled crossings outside intersections, in which case the traffic light is often equipped with a button to turn on the green signal on demand.
Off-street [edit | edit code]
A pedestrian crossing can be located not only at the same level as the road, but also at different levels. In this case, a distinction is made between underground and overground pedestrian crossings. Their construction is expensive, and they create serious inconveniences for people with limited mobility. Therefore, underground and overground pedestrian crossings are built on streets with a large flow of traffic, where the organization of ground crossings would lead to an unacceptable reduction in the capacity of the route. As a result, some cities are fighting against surface pedestrian crossings due to their inconvenience for motorists.
Underground [ edit | edit code]
They are installed under the roadway or railway track.
Overhead [ edit | edit code]
An overpass (in the form of a viaduct, bridge) is installed above the roadway or railway track.
Types of road markings
Road markings exist for safe traffic and are strictly regulated by state standards. They spell out the basic requirements for applying markings to the road surface, depending on their purpose.
To designate areas intended for crossing the street, the following types of markings are used:
- 1.14.1. Classic. It is used on crossings whose width does not exceed 6 m. The marking consists of uniform wide stripes applied parallel along the road.
- 1.14.2. Combined. It is a double classic marking with arrows that determine the course of movement. Used only on crossings whose width exceeds 6 m.
Regardless of the type of marking, it consists of a series of horizontal stripes located parallel to each other at a distance of 60 cm. The stripes are usually applied with white or yellow paint, although white and yellow markings are also allowed.
Such markings can be used either independently or in combination with road signs 5.19.1 or 5.19.2
Underground and overground pedestrian crossings in the rest of the world
Due to the increasing load on city streets in the 20th century, the construction of underground pedestrian crossings began in the USSR, as in other countries of the world. Preference was given to underground passages because, unlike overground ones, they did not violate the architectural appearance of the city and could be combined with exits from metro stations. In addition, it was believed that they were more convenient and safer for pedestrians.
However, many do not even realize that the underground and overground pedestrian crossings so familiar to us have become widespread in the post-Soviet space. In “Western” countries, off-street crossings are not so often found on city streets - in most cities, if there are any, they can literally be counted on one hand.
Exceptions are crossings combined with exits from metro stations, which, as a rule, are not used for direct crossing of the road, but only serve as an entrance to the metro and a convenient exit to the preferred side of the street. To cross the road, pedestrians use ground crossings, which are located directly next to the metro exit. Crossing the street through such an underground passage is extremely rare and can only be used as an alternative.
Now, using the example of different cities around the world, we will look at how off-street crossings are arranged there and how common they are.
Let's start with the cities of Western Europe.
London
London is the only European city comparable in size (agglomeration population) to Moscow. London's public transport is noticeably better developed, and the number of cars per 1,000 residents is comparable to that of Moscow. Accordingly, there is also the problem of separating the flow of pedestrians and vehicles. However, it is solved radically differently. There are about 300 off-street pedestrian crossings in London (this is two times less than in Moscow). However, in 2009, Transport for London announced a policy to replace all off-street pedestrian crossings with street level crossings where possible. This is being done gradually, and there are already examples of such replacements (see photo).
Paris
The Paris agglomeration (the so-called “Greater Paris”) is also comparable in size, population (about 11 million people) and level of motorization to Moscow. Despite this, in the center of Paris there are no off-street crossings as a class. More precisely, they exist in the form of combined exits from metro or RER stations (an analogue of our electric train, partially running underground and performing the functions of a metro within the city). However, as mentioned above, they are usually used only to exit and enter the station. To cross even multi-lane streets in the city center, zebra crossings are used, and the Champs-Élysées is the best proof of this.
Rome
In the Italian capital the situation is similar to Paris. Underground passages exist only as connections to metro stations, and you can always cross the street on the surface without going down. That is, these are only entrances to the metro, no one uses them as passages, and their configuration is appropriate.
Florence
Florence is a smaller city than Rome; it has no metro and, accordingly, no underground passages. The exception is the Station Square (Piazza della Stazione), which, despite quite busy traffic, can be crossed along the street. At the same time, there is an alternative option with an underground passage that leads to the lower level of the station, but to cross the square in the right direction you can completely do without it.
Stockholm
In Stockholm, there are several pedestrian crossings combined with metro exits and used specifically as underground passages. However, they are all equipped with escalators and elevators and are located under busy city intersections.
Now let's move on to the cities of Eastern Europe. In them the situation is somewhat different. Since this entire area was under Soviet influence, there are significantly more underground passages there than in Western Europe. However, they were mainly built on the periphery of the city, at intersections with wide highways.
Prague
One of the largest cities in the eastern part of Europe can boast of an almost complete absence of off-street crossings in the historical part of the city, but there are plenty of them on the outskirts. In most cases, they are combined with metro exits and are actively used to cross the street. There is almost always no alternative to crossing the road at the top.
Warsaw
During the Second World War, the capital of Poland was almost completely destroyed and rebuilt in the post-war years. The city was built mainly according to the standards developed in the USSR. In the 1960s, massive housing construction in residential areas began in Warsaw, the layout of which necessarily included underground passages. In 1995, a metro was opened in Warsaw, the exits of which are also combined with underground passages. Today Warsaw holds the record for the number of underground passages among Polish cities. As a rule, in addition to metro stations and large squares, crossings are located near tram stops, which run in the middle of the street. It is not possible to cross the road at the top; the roadway is separated from the sidewalks by a fence.
Krakow
Historically, the city is divided into two almost equal parts: historical Krakow itself and the Nowa Huta district, completely built in Soviet times next to a huge metallurgical plant. In Krakow itself, until recently, there was only one underground passage on the station square under a busy intersection. Its characteristic feature is the complete absence of stairs: the entrances and exits from the passage are made in the form of gentle slopes, which does not create any inconvenience for pedestrians with limited mobility, as well as for numerous people with large bags (there is also a large shopping center near the station). Two more underground passages appeared in Krakow in 2009 after the opening of a high-speed tram in the city, to which underground passages were connected, however, they can boast of their stepless descents.
The picture is completely different in Nowa Huta: this area was built up in Soviet times according to Soviet standards, and as a result, underground passages were built at many intersections. After Poland joined the European Union, most of them were closed, the remaining ones were modernized and adapted for pedestrians with limited mobility.
Dresden
The city is located in the former GDR; as a result, there are also underground passages there. However, as part of the reconstruction of the city center, they are trying to close them. Here is an example of the renovation of one of the central squares - you can see that markings have been drawn on the ground, and instead of an underground passage, people use the ground one. The reconstruction of this area has already been carried out.
Now let's look at Asian cities. They were built differently and in most cases are now much larger than Moscow.
Tokyo
Now let's look at one of the largest cities in East Asia. The capital of Japan boasts dense buildings, wide streets and a large number of overpasses that cross letters literally every 150 meters. Here's a good example - an intersection in Akaihabara (a large high-rise district with dense buildings in the center of Tokyo). There is a metro station nearby.
The picture is completely different in Chinese cities.
Hong Kong
There are a lot of off-street pedestrian crossings in Hong Kong, one and a half times more than in Moscow, and they are considered the safest way to cross the road. As can be seen in the study, overpasses are even more popular than underpasses.
Interestingly, 45% of movements in Hong Kong are done on foot. In addition, there is a developed public transport system, and motorization is very low - only 80 cars per 1000 residents, which is four times less than in Moscow. And there are off-street pedestrian crossings everywhere, which make traffic very difficult.
It is not very clear why and why this is done - especially in Hong Kong, a special economic zone in China. Perhaps the reason is the very high population density (6480 people/km2, in Moscow - 4823.26 people/km2) and, as a consequence, the very high density of buildings, because of this there is simply no room left for large areas and developed pedestrian space. Or perhaps the point is in the very orientation of transport and urban policy not on people, but on transport - apparently, it doesn’t matter whether it’s public or personal.
The situation is similar in other Chinese cities:
Beijing
Shanghai
And finally, about America.
The United States has a world record level of motorization - about 800 cars per 1,000 inhabitants. American cities have a very developed road network, and in general they were built when cars had already appeared - accordingly, their very layout initially implied cars in the city, which is not the case in Europe.
However, cities do not use off-street pedestrian crossings. Naturally, they exist under railroad right-of-way or above-ground ones across highways, but in the central parts of cities they are not, and just like in Europe, underground passages through the metro are duplicated by ground ones. When it comes to a wide, busy highway passing through the city center, this highway either goes down or becomes an overpass, but the pedestrian remains at the crossing at the level of the ground and buildings.
Thus, having considered the situation around the world, we can assume that the issue is really about transport and urban policy. In America, as in Europe, urban planning is people-oriented, but in Russia and Asia this is not the case. It’s not even a matter of the priorities “pedestrian - public transport - car”. The point, apparently, is in the very idea and desire to do something for people in general and for each specific person individually; build cities so that everyone likes everything.
Standards for the arrangement of pedestrian crossings
Pedestrian zones play an important role in road safety. For this reason, the state puts forward high standards for their arrangement, which are periodically subject to changes.
Requirements GOST R 52289-2004
Standard 52289-2004 establishes requirements for the use of technical means to organize safe traffic on the road.
According to GOST R 52289-2004:
- It is not permitted to place advertising posters, green spaces or other devices that obstruct the view of a road sign or traffic light.
- Markings that are difficult to see due to weather conditions must be temporarily reinforced with appropriate signs.
- Visibility of signs is 100 meters or more.
- Sign 1.22 must be installed in front of all unregulated crossings that are not visible at a distance of up to 150 m.
- Signs 5.19.1 and 5.19.2 are installed at a distance of no more than 1 m from the transition boundaries. The first sign should be on the right of the road or carriageway, and the second on the left.
- To determine the width of the pedestrian zone, you should use the formula: 1m = 500 pedestrians/hour, but not less than 4 m.
- Traffic lights are a technical means of regulating traffic at crossings for pedestrians.
The regulatory document also allows for the introduction of extreme markings or signs, but only after agreement with the State Traffic Inspectorate.
Standards GOST R 52766-2007
GOST R 52766-2007 made adjustments to the arrangement of areas for pedestrians. The document contains the following standards:
- The distance between crossings in populated areas is 200-300 m. The exception is residential areas with a length of less than 0.5 km. In this case, the distance can be 100-150 m, and the number of transitions should not exceed 2.
- If the width of the roadway is more than 15 m, pedestrian areas must be equipped with traffic islands.
- Outside populated areas, crossings are installed near public institutions and in such a way that they are clearly visible from both sides of the roadway, at a distance of 150 meters or more.
- Near regulated crossings there should be railing-type fences on both sides of the road. The distance is more than 50 m in both directions.
- On multi-lane roads, in places of off-street crossings, it is mandatory to install fences no less than 20 m long on both sides of the overground or underground crossing. Installation location: dividing strip.
This GOST is not perfect and requires some modifications, including the introduction of a requirement for the mandatory installation of an off-street crossing with more than 3 lanes in one direction.
What has changed in GOST R 58398-2019
GOST R 58398-2019 does not cancel the standards established by previously adopted standards, but only supplements them to make it possible to organize comfortable and safe road traffic for all its participants.
According to the normative act:
- The standard size of signs can be reduced to 50-40 cm.
- Use of additional attention frames on signs 5.19.1 and 5.19.2 installed in dimly lit areas or indicating unregulated pedestrians.
- Introduction of signs 5.19.3 and 5.19. 4, which allow you to cross the street diagonally.
Some requirements of the new standard contradict GOSTs adopted years earlier, but do not cancel them.
Pedestrian crossings. Part 1. Unregulated crossings in Russia | TransSpot
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Introduction
This series of articles will look at the pros and cons of various pedestrian crossings in urban environments. All information was obtained from domestic regulatory and methodological documents and from foreign sources (standards and research in Germany).
We will divide all pedestrian crossings into the following types:
- Unregulated pedestrian crossings
- Adjustable pedestrian crossings
- Adjustable diagonal pedestrian crossings
- Pedestrian crossings at different levels: aboveground and underground pedestrian crossings (off-street pedestrian crossings)
- Pedestrian areas
In this article we will consider regulatory documents in Russia for the design of unregulated pedestrian crossings.
Domestic regulatory documents on unregulated pedestrian crossings
The main unpleasant point is that there is no single modern standard that would fully cover the principles of designing unregulated pedestrian crossings. All conditions are spread across several documents.
The main document in the Russian Federation regulating the design of transport infrastructure in cities SP 42.13330.2011 “Urban planning. Planning and development of urban and rural settlements” indicates in paragraph 11.
9 that visibility for “vehicle-pedestrian” conditions must be ensured in one of two cases - for a vehicle speed of 25 km/h or 40 km/h. There is no 60 km/h speed at this point. Despite this, in practice there are unregulated pedestrian crossings without a speed limit of 25 or 40 km/h.
It is not clear what visibility conditions should be ensured.
Requirement of GOST R 52289-2004 in clause 8.2.6. excluded :
Safety islands, marked on the roadway with markings or curb stones, are installed at surface pedestrian crossings with a vehicle traffic intensity of at least 400 units/hour per lane of the roadway and at a distance between the sidewalk and the edge of the island of at least 10.5 m.
Requirements GOST R 52766-2007:
4.2.5 Safety islands 4.2.5.1 When the vehicle traffic intensity is at least 400 units/hour per one lane of the roadway, at surface pedestrian crossings, safety islands are installed, which are placed on the roadway or dividing strip, with the distance between the edge of the roadway and The border of the island must be at least 7.5 m . 4.2.5.
2 The width of the island must be no less than the width of the pedestrian crossing, and the length must be at least 1.5 m. 4.2.5.3 The boundary of the traffic island is marked using markings and/or curbs. Raised islands with curbs on the roadway are installed in the presence of stationary electric lighting. The height of the border should be (10 ± 1) cm.
When separating oncoming traffic flows by installing barriers along the axis of the roadway, raised traffic islands with curbs are not used.
4.2.5.4 ( Deleted. Amendment No. 1 ). The distance between the edge of the roadway and the border of the island must be at least 7.5 meters for islands marked with markings in accordance with GOST R 52289, and for raised islands with curbs - at least 10.5 meters
4.2.5.5 The center of the island on the roadway must be in line with the marking line separating traffic flows in opposite directions.
It is permissible to use the guide island as a safety island . (see picture below)
4.2.5.6 When placing an island on the roadway in front of it, a continuous inclined marking line 1.1 according to GOST R 51256 is applied on both sides, diverting traffic flows from the island (transition line), with an inclination to the road axis of 1:20 (1:50)1) . 4.5.2.4 The pedestrian crossing must be equipped with road signs, markings, and stationary outdoor lighting (powered from distribution networks or autonomous sources).
On roads with a carriageway width of 15 m or more, surface pedestrian crossings must be equipped with traffic islands in accordance with 4.2.5.
Using a traffic island as a traffic island for crossing one lane of traffic. Moscow. Nikitsky Gate Square. (Arkady Gershman, https://gre4ark.livejournal.com/)
In addition, GOST R 52289-2004 in clause 7.2.14 specifies the conditions for installing traffic lights at pedestrian crossings.
- The intensity of vehicle traffic on the road is at least 600 units/hour (for roads with a dividing strip - 1000 units/hour) in both directions during each of any 8 hours of the working day of the week. The traffic intensity of pedestrians crossing the carriageway of this road in one of the busiest directions at the same time is at least 150 pedestrians/hour. In settlements with a population of less than 10,000 people. vehicle and pedestrian traffic intensity values are 70% of those indicated.
- The traffic intensity values of vehicles and pedestrians under condition 1 are simultaneously 80% or more of those indicated.
- There have been at least three traffic accidents at the intersection in the last 12 months that could have been prevented by traffic lights. In this case, condition 1 must be fulfilled by 80% or more.
Fines for pedestrians and drivers
According to current traffic regulations, every driver approaching an unregulated pedestrian zone must give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the street or has just stepped onto a zebra crossing.
Failure to comply with these rules is an administrative offense, punishable by a fine of 1.5 thousand rubles. If a pedestrian transports children, the fine for ignoring traffic rules will be 3 thousand rubles. If you pay the fine early, its amount will be halved.
Stopping in a zone for pedestrians, as well as at a distance of less than 5 m from it, is illegal. For such an offense, the driver faces a fine of 1,000 rubles.
Despite the fact that vehicle drivers are most often subject to fines, pedestrians also violate traffic rules. One of these offenses is jaywalking, for which the person may be given a warning or a fine of 500 rubles.
2021 innovations in traffic rules
Despite a number of adopted changes, the organization of zones for pedestrians remains unfinished. All imperfections can be eliminated only by adopting the next innovations in traffic rules.
Thus, the official traffic police portal received a proposal on the need to check all existing crossings, since most of them do not comply with established standards. It would also be useful to review their number, since the number of motorists is growing every year.
Innovations may also affect the “appearance” of zebras. It is planned to introduce warning signs that will make zebra crossings more visible to drivers.
