CROW Pedestrian Crossings 

CROW is the Dutch institution from which national infrastructure design standards and manuals are issued. While they provide specific technical guidance where necessary, CROW manuals are valued worldwide because they invite discussion and locally sensitive context-specific solutions. CROW assembles these manuals with the help of many Dutch professionals, including Mobycon. This specific project, ‘Verkenning Zebrapaden’ (‘Pedestrian Zebra Crossings’) was to evaluate and improve on the ubiquitous white striped marked crossings common on streets in the Netherlands (and in many other parts of the world).  

Dutch municipalities have extensive experience implementing pedestrian crossings (colloquially known as zebra crossings). Around zebra crossings, myths circulate. They are rumored to provide a false sense of security and some traffic professionals suggest they should not be used where car speeds reach 30 and 50 km/h (18 and 30 mph).  

 Mobycon consulted the literature on what is known about zebra crossings and how municipalities use them. Through desk research, analyzing lessons learned in the last five years of pedestrian projects, and interviews with contemporary traffic practitioners and experts, Mobycon developed recommendations for zebra crossing applications in different road contexts with CROW.