Median island safety improvements

The City of Calgary continuously monitors the safety performance of roadways and intersections to identify where changes can be made to improve traffic safety.

Adding median islands on wide roadways with high traffic and pedestrian volumes, has been proven to improve pedestrian comfort and reduce the risk of collisions and speeding.

When deciding where to build a median island, we look at:

  • Safety concerns (such as public complaints and troubling speed and collision data)
  • Volume of traffic on the roadway
  • Volume of pedestrians crossing the roadway
  • Type of amenities on both sides of the roadway (those pedestrians need to access such as bus stops, residences, and businesses)
  • Width of the roadway

3 Avenue & 34 Street N.W. Median Islands

Frequently asked questions

Will parking be lost because of the change?

When this type of improvement is constructed, sometimes parking needs to be removed before, during and after construction. As motorists approach a median island parking is removed in the lane closest to the curb. The amount of parking that is removed is different at each location.

What type of construction is taking place?

When median islands are constructed, lane shift as well as lane narrowing are required to allow motorists a better way to yield to pedestrians crossing roadways.

Has The City of Calgary made this change at other locations?

Yes. The City of Calgary has built a median island at 3 Avenue and 34 Street N.W.

Is The City of Calgary going to monitor these locations to ensure the new median islands have improved safety?

Yes.  The City of Calgary monitors the safety performance of roadways and intersections in Calgary and identifies where changes need to be made to improve safety for roadway users including pedestrians.  Once a location is identified and changes are made, The City of Calgary monitors how the changes support improved safety performance.  At other locations where this type of change was made, safety performance has improved.

How was this change chosen?

Median islands are selected based on the volume of traffic on a roadway and the number of pedestrians crossing at crosswalks on roadways as well as the types of safety concerns noted at crosswalks.  

Contact us

To learn more about the project or give feedback, contact 311 online.

Contact 311

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