Controlling the flow of traffic in areas where there are a lot of pedestrians is critical to their safety and there are many options that you can use to do that. Traffic lights and stops signs are helpful but if you want to integrate pedestrians in the traffic pattern, you need to have a way to indicate to drivers that it is time to let the pedestrians cross the road. Crosswalks are good, but if you can warn drivers of the crosswalk before they get to it, they will be better prepared to stop or yield to people in it:

Warning Signs

Warning signs placed in the road near a crosswalk can make drivers aware of the crosswalk the possibility of people on the road. They are not barriers and will not stop oncoming traffic so care needs to be taken as people enter the crosswalk but they do offer a high-visibility warning for drivers. Warning signs can be used alone or in conjunction with other warning devices if you choose.

Warning Lights

In some areas, you may see flashing lights and a warning sign posted well ahead of the crosswalk. The lights are designed to get the drivers attention so that they will see the sign the accompanies it. It is pretty effective but since the light is flashing all the time, after a while drivers may start to forget that it is even there. Warning lights become more effective if they only come on when there is someone in the crosswalk.

In Pavement LED Lights

For maximum visibility LED lights can be embedded into the pavement along the crosswalk and tied to the push-to-cross button. The lights will only come on when the walk light is on and will turn off when the walk signal is off. This type of signal is particularly helpful in the dark but because the LED's are so bright, it can be seen during the day as well.

Crossing Gates

Like the gates used at train crossings, crossing gates can be installed at crosswalks as well, The gates are lowered when someone is in the crosswalk. The barriers are not strong enough to stop a car or truck from breaching them but they will force drivers to stop at the crosswalk when they are down.

Solar-Powered Lights

Some of the flashing light systems that are available are set up to have a light the flashes day and night. Some of these are set up with a solar panel and battery connected to the light that allows the light to stay on all the time at no cost to the municipality that is using these signals.

Contact a company like Lanelight for more information and assistance.