Local Motion’s Statement on the Proposed Ordinance Regulating Pedestrian Use of Medians and Islands

Local Motion supports efforts to make Columbia’s streets safer for everyone who walks, bikes, rolls, and drives.

The City’s Street and Intersection Pedestrian Safety Study, drafted by CBB earlier this year, identified 47 locations where speeding and roadway design create risks for people walking. The study did not find evidence that pedestrians standing on medians are a cause of crashes or deaths.

Based on that data, this proposed ordinance would restrict behavior without providing additional safety protections. Columbia already regulates unsafe crossings through its existing ordinances. Effective safety improvements come from redesigning high-speed corridors, lowering speeds, and making intersections more accessible for all users.

We’d love to continue the conversation about pedestrian safety, but this ordinance is not that. We encourage the City to build on positive steps like the Pedestrian Level of Comfort map and Complete Streets policy to guide design changes that make walking and rolling safer for everyone.