A traffic island is a solid or painted object in a road that channels

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an

acute angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight lines at a point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a plane formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing ...

. If the island uses road markings only, without raised curbs or other physical obstructions, it is called a painted island or (especially in the UK) ghost island. Traffic islands can be used to reduce the speed of cars driving through, or to provide a central refuge to pedestrians crossing the road. When traffic islands are longer, they are instead called traffic medians, a strip in the middle of a

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

, serving the divider function over a much longer distance. Some traffic islands may serve as refuge islands for pedestrians. Traffic islands are often used at partially blind intersections on back-streets to prevent cars from cutting a corner with potentially dangerous results, or to prevent some movements totally, for traffic safety or traffic calming reasons. In certain areas of the United Kingdom, particularly in The Midlands, the term ''island'' is often used as a synonym for

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

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Road infrastructure {{road-stub da:Helleanlæg de:Verkehrsinsel es:Mediana (tráfico) sv:Refug