What are they?
Continental crosswalks are longitudinal stripes designated where to walk across the road. These high visibility markings provide a visual cue for people who drive and bike of where to expect crossing pedestrians.
How do they work?
Continental crosswalks create higher-visibility spaces for people crossing the street. These designs, which consist of wide white stripes running parallel to the curb, have been shown to increase yielding behavior among drivers and can play a key role in a suite of streetscape improvements to create safer conditions for pedestrians. Near schools, crosswalks are painted yellow.
SFMTA’s Commitment to Continental Crosswalks
It is the goal of the SFMTA to have all crosswalk markings be converted to the high-visibility continental marking pattern. By 2024, all crosswalks on the Vision Zero High Injury Network will be upgraded to continental crosswalks.
The SFMTA is also undertaking a Proactive Crosswalk Program, a data-driven approach to stripe high visibility crosswalks on the High Injury Network and in denser, neighborhood-serving areas. At least 40 intersection will be upgraded with high visibility crosswalks in 2023 through this program.