View source for Engineering:Traffic island

{{short description|Object in the middle of a road designed to channel traffic}}
[[File:Ivan Jack Drive traffic island.jpg|thumb|upright|A traffic island in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, {{wipe|Australia}}]]
A '''traffic island''' is a solid or painted object in a road that channels traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle.  If the island uses road markings only, without raised curbs or other physical obstructions, it is called a '''painted island''' or (especially in the UK) '''ghost island'''. Traffic islands can be used to reduce the speed of cars driving through,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steven|first=Windass|date=19 October 2015|title=When Should Ghost Islands Be Provided at Priority Junctions, and the Application of DMRB Standards on Local Roads in the UK|url=https://trid.trb.org/view/1372006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301144104/https://trid.trb.org/view/1372006|archive-date=1 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> or to provide a central refuge to pedestrians crossing the road.

When traffic islands are longer, they are instead called traffic medians, a strip in the middle of a road, serving the divider function over a much longer distance.<ref name="UK Highways Agency junction design manual">{{cite web|last=UK Highways Agency|title=Geometric Design of Major/Minor Priority Junctions|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/vol6/section2/td4295.pdf|publisher=HMSO|access-date=31 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626094434/http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/vol6/section2/td4295.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:2008_-_panoramio_-_Валерий_Дед_(6).jpg|thumb|Refuge island in Lisbon, Portugal]]

Some traffic islands may serve as [[Engineering:Refuge island|refuge island]]s for pedestrians.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is a traffic island?|url=http://islandsofla.org/wp/?p=35|website=Islands of LA|access-date=26 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402153549/http://islandsofla.org/wp/?p=35|archive-date=2 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}{{spam link|date=February 2020}}</ref> Traffic islands are often used at partially blind intersections on back-streets to prevent cars from cutting a corner with potentially dangerous results, or to prevent some movements totally, for traffic safety or traffic calming reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://postcourier.com.pg/258451-2/|title=Traffic islands not vending zones - Post Courier|website=postcourier.com.pg|date=15 November 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-01|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301144104/https://postcourier.com.pg/258451-2/|archive-date=1 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In certain areas of the {{wipe|United Kingdom}}, particularly in The Midlands, the term ''island'' is often used as a synonym for roundabout.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-what-most-dangerous-roundabout-11793448|title=Revealed: What is the most dangerous roundabout in Birmingham?|last=Elkes|first=Neil|date=2016-08-25|work=birminghammail|access-date=2018-03-01|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102055758/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-what-most-dangerous-roundabout-11793448|archive-date=2 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== See also ==
* Traffic circle
* [[Engineering:Refuge island|Refuge island]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==


[[Category:Road infrastructure]]



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{{Sourceattribution|Traffic island}}