Most pedestrian crashes occur while the pedestrian is attempting to cross the road. A range of treatments can help pedestrians to cross safely, including ‘raised’ pedestrian crossings.

Pedestrian crossings, including signalised and unsignalised crossings, may incorporate a raised feature (raised crossing) that is designed to slow the speed of approaching vehicles. Raised crossings act as traffic calming measures that allow the people to cross the road at the same level as the footpath.

Raised crossings are typically used on streets and local distributor roads where the speed environment is no more than 50km/h and there are significant flows of pedestrians, particularly at schools, in shopping districts, transit stops and other locations where vehicles pick up and drop off passengers.

Raised crossings often include linemarking or a coloured paint on the ramps and platform, and signage, to help drivers and riders identify the crossing. The design of the ramps of the raised crossing may reflect the context it is used in. In a 50km/h environment, for example, a raised crossing might be 100mm in height with ramps that are 2.5m in length. The raised platform should be wide enough to accommodate the pedestrian crossing and such that front and rear wheels of a typical car are able to be on the platform at the same time.