Curb Extension - Uses

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 (particularly children) 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.

Curb extensions are also used when retrofitting existing streets to accommodate congestion charging schemes - hitherto wide (sometimes multi-lane) roads are deliberately narrowed to ensure that the charging equipment can see passing vehicles, and the charging equipment (and often bollards or other barrier devices) are placed in the expanded sidewalk area (to prevent drivers from circumventing the charging system's cameras and detectors).