Install wildlife crosswalks

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

0%
Certainty

20%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Crosswalks are intended to guide wildlife across roads at specific crossing points along fenced stretches of highway and to provide drivers with warning signs indicating specific locations where animals are expected to cross. In this narrow crossing zone, animals walking on to the road are guided directly across the road by river cobbles and/or painted cattle guards.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects on mammals of installing wildlife crosswalks. This study was in the USA.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Survival (1 study): A replicated, before-and-after, site comparison study in the USA found that designated crossing points with barrier fencing did not significantly reduce road deaths of mule deer.

BEHAVIOUR (0 STUDIES)

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated, before-and-after, site comparison study in 1991–1995 along two highways in Utah, USA (Lehnert & Bissonette 1997) found that designated crossing points with barrier fencing did not significantly reduce road deaths of mule deer Odocoileus hemionus. Deaths decreased on both fenced and unfenced sections but the rate of decline was not significantly higher on fenced road sections with crossings (after: 36–46 deer fatalities over 15 months; before: 111–148 over 36 months) than over the same period on unfenced sections (after: 34–63; before: 75–123). In September 1994, four and five crossing points were installed along a two- and a four-lane highway respectively. Fencing (2.3 m high) restricted access to roadside resources and directed deer to crossing points. At these points, deer could jump a 1-m-high fence into funnel shaped fencing (2.3 m high) with a narrow opening to the road. One-way gates allowed deer trapped along the road to escape. Three warning signs, 152 m apart before crossings, and painted lines across the road at crossings, indicated to drivers that it was a crossing point. Road deaths were monitored weekly along treatment and nearby control roads before and after crossing installation, from October 1991 to November 1995.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Lehnert M.E. & Bissonette J.A. (1997) Effectiveness of highway crosswalk structures at reducing deer-vehicle collisions. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 25, 809-818.

Please cite as:

Littlewood, N.A., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K., Martin, P.A., Lockhart, S.L., Schoonover, R.F., Wilman, E., Bladon, A.J., Sainsbury, K.A., Pimm S. and Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Terrestrial Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for terrestrial mammals excluding bats and primates. Synopses of Conservation Evidence Series. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Use reflective collars or paint on mammals to reduce collisions with road vehicles Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Install acoustic wildlife warnings along roads Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Fit vehicles with ultrasonic warning devices Action Link	Unlikely to be beneficial	3	Synopsis Link