Why build medians?
Raised medians are extremely effective at improving the safety of pedestrians crossing wide roadways because the pedestrian can deal with traffic from one direction at a time and has a safe refuge in the center. They are also effective at calming traffic by reducing the wide open feeling of the road. Vehicle crashes are also reduced because the medians limit the number of points where left turns can be made. Left turns cause more accidents than any other type of vehicle turns.