Pedestrian Crossings Line Marking

AS 1742.2 specifies minimum crossing width of 2.5m (measured parallel to road centreline). Individual zebra stripes must be minimum 500mm wide. Spacing between stripes should equal stripe width (500mm stripes with 500mm gaps). Crossings typically use 8-12 stripes depending on road width. The stripes run perpendicular to traffic flow. Many councils have additional local requirements (some want 600mm or 700mm stripes for better visibility). A council in Ballarat rejected a crossing we'd marked to minimum AS 1742 standards because their local traffic management plan specified 600mm stripes. We now verify council-specific requirements before marking any road crossings. Lesson learned: AS 1742 sets minimums, but councils can require higher standards.

Durability and cost. Standard paint on a busy road crossing lasts 12-18 months before wearing thin and requiring repainting. Thermoplastic on the same crossing lasts 6-8 years. A suburban street with light traffic (maybe 500 vehicles daily) might get 2-3 years from quality paint, making it cost-effective. A busy shopping centre entrance crossing (5,000+ vehicles daily) destroys paint within 12 months. We learned this at a retail complex in Chadstone. Initial paint crossings needed repainting annually at roughly $800 per crossing. We switched to thermoplastic in 2020 at roughly $2,200 per crossing. Four years later those thermoplastic crossings still look excellent. No maintenance costs. The thermoplastic paid for itself by year three and we're now in bonus years of durability.

Yes, for most public pedestrian crossings under AS/NZS 1428.4.1. Tactile ground surface indicators (TGSIs) warn vision-impaired pedestrians that they're approaching a road crossing. These are typically raised dots or bars in a contrasting colour positioned at the kerb or footpath edge where the crossing begins. The line marking (zebra stripes) and TGSIs must be coordinated. Some crossings we mark, the TGSIs are already installed. Other times we coordinate with the client's paver or civil contractor to ensure TGSIs go in at correct positions before we mark the crossing. A council in Geelong marked crossings without TGSIs and failed their accessibility audit. They had to retrofit TGSIs at every crossing, which was messier and more expensive than coordinating everything from the start.

Absolutely. Car park crossings don't need to follow AS 1742 as strictly as public road crossings (councils don't regulate private property the same way), but we still use similar high-visibility treatments for safety. Most common: yellow and black diagonal stripes (similar to zebra crossing pattern but using yellow instead of white for higher contrast against standard white car park lines). These create obvious visual alerts for drivers in busy car parks. A shopping centre in Fountain Gate had faded white zebra crossings that drivers constantly ignored because they blended with white bay lines. We remarked them using high-visibility yellow and black stripes. Security reported near-miss incidents in those crossing zones dropped roughly 70% based on their incident logs. The yellow just grabs attention better than white in car park environments.

School crossings get additional treatments beyond basic zebra stripes. AS 1742.4 specifies school crossing requirements: large "40" pavement marking approaching the crossing (indicating 40km/h school zone), limit lines where vehicles must stop (typically 1-3m before the crossing stripes), often "SLOW SCHOOL" or similar text in advance of the crossing (maybe 50-100m before), regulatory signage zones, and higher visibility crossing stripes (councils often require thermoplastic for school crossings even if they accept paint elsewhere). The zebra stripes themselves are typically standard dimensions but might use brighter materials. A primary school in Preston upgraded their crossing. We installed thermoplastic "40" markings, limit lines, advance "SLOW CHILDREN" warnings, and thermoplastic zebra stripes. The principal said driver behavior changed noticeably, with more vehicles actually slowing to 40km/h instead of cruising through at 60km/h.

Yes. Raised crossings (where the road surface ramps up to footpath level creating a flat platform across the carriageway) need approach markings warning drivers of the level change plus the crossing treatment itself. Typical system: chevron markings on the approach ramps (white or yellow chevrons angled toward the centre, similar to speed hump markings), edge lines marking the platform boundaries, and zebra stripes across the flat platform section. Some councils also require tactile edge markings (different surface texture or pattern) to warn drivers in advance. A residential street in Northcote installed raised platform crossings as traffic calming. We marked the complete treatment including approach chevrons, platform edges, and zebra stripes. Residents told council the platforms successfully slowed traffic and the marking made them highly visible day and night.