Midblock pedestrian crossings may be appropriate in a variety of contexts based on pedestrian desire lines, transit stop locations, land use context, and intersection spacing. Motorists are more likely to expect pedestrians at intersection locations and often are driving at higher speeds in midblock locations. Because of this, the use and design of midblock crossings should be deliberate to address pedestrian safety and improve motorist compliance.

Given the differences between intersection and midblock crossings, there are several key considerations designers must keep in mind:

The crossing location should be convenient for pedestrians;
Motorists should be alerted of the crossing as they approach it;
Pedestrians must be able to assess opportunities to cross; and
All users must be made aware of their responsibilities and obligations at the crossing and designers must provide opportunities to meet those responsibilities and obligations.

Designers should consider pedestrian volumes, motorist volumes, types of vehicles, traffic speeds, roadway characteristics (e.g., number of travel lanes), and adjacent land use context when determining if a midblock crosswalk should be provided. Additionally, pedestrians have a strong desire to stay on their path of travel and do not want to go unnecessarily out of their way to utilize a crossing, so crossing locations should be placed at or near the pedestrians’ desired path of travel.

To promote and achieve high compliance, midblock crossings should be located where intersection spacing is excessive and there is a natural desire line for the pedestrians’ path of travel. These conditions may include some of the following:

The guidance in through for pedestrian crossing treatments and countermeasures is similarly applicable to midblock crossings. Refer to the latest and the for guidance on additional signing and markings for midblock crossings.