A curb extension is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossing distance and allowing pedestrians and drivers to see each other when parked vehicles would otherwise block visibility. A curb extension is formed by an angled narrowing of the roadway and a widening of the sidewalk. This is often accompanied by an area of enhanced restrictions and the appropriate visual reinforcement. This is achieved using painted road markings, barriers, bollards, or the addition of pavement or street furniture. Curb extensions are often used in combination with other traffic calming measures such as chicanes, speed bumps, or rumble strips, and are frequently sited to protect formal pedestrian crossings. In these cases the "squeeze" effect of the narrowed roadway shortens the exposed distance pedestrians must walk.
Uses
The primary use of curb extensions are to improve visibility of pedestrians and reduce their exposure to motor vehicles. Curb extensions are also in a number of special circumstances:
To provide additional horizontal space to allow retrofitting of existing sidewalks with ramps, where the sidewalk would otherwise be too narrow.
To provide additional visibility and protection for pedestrians when leaving premises. The curb extension may contain a pedestrian barrier, preventing pedestrians from running straight from the premises over the road.
In combination with a controlled urban parking scheme, where parking spaces are shielded from oncoming traffic by the extended sidewalk element.
To slow and calm traffic, particularly fast traffic turning from a major to a minor road.
To protect passengers embarking and particularly disembarking from trams, buses, and level-grade urban light rail systems, particularly when retrofitting existing streets.
To provide room for U-turns on superstreets.
Curb extensions are also used when retrofitting existing streets to accommodate congestion charging schemes - hitherto wide roads are deliberately narrowed to ensure that the charging equipment can see passing vehicles, and the charging equipment are placed in the expanded sidewalk area.
Design, advantages and disadvantages
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center advises that curb extensions ought not encroach on travel lanes, bicycle lanes, or shoulders, and should not extend more than 1.8 m from the curb. Some curb extensions are built with the bike lane passing through. One study has found that pedestrians crossing at curb extensions have to wait for fewer vehicles to pass before a motorist yields to allow them to cross. The study was too small to determine whether other measures of effectiveness, such as percent of pedestrians crossing after a motorist yields, were significant. Poorly designed curb extensions can pose a hazard to cyclists, as they force cyclists from their position at the road side into the narrowed gap. They can also damage vehicles if the curbs extend too close to traffic lanes. Author Randal O'Toole argues that curb extensions are used to discourage the use of automobiles by reducing the number of lanes available for automobiles. In particular, curb extensions can be used to block turn lanes, forcing turning vehicles to remain with the forward moving traffic. Curb extensions do prevent drivers from using parking lanes or shoulders as right turn lanes. However, reducing the crossing distance also reduces the time needed to cross the street. This allows a reduction in the length of the pedestrian phase at signalized intersection, and reduces the time needed to yield to pedestrians at stop sign controlled intersections. This at least partially compensated for any loss in vehicle capacity. Curb extensions complicate drainage. They obstruct the gutter, so a catch basin is needed at the uphill end to keep a puddle from forming. An alternate solution is placing a gap in the curb, allowing the stormwater in the gutter to irrigate a rain garden or bioswale in the curb extension. . To facilitate street sweeping, the internal and external curvatures of the extended curb section are moderately graduated. Retroactively adding curb extensions to older, established communities has been controversial in some instances, due to the installation of the extensions reducing the availability of on-street parking for some properties, particularly in cases where the curb extension has been installed on its own and not in conjunction with a crosswalk.
