Parallel crossing

A parallel crossing is a combined pedestrian and cycle crossing which has priority over the road which it crosses. It consists of a zebra crossing with a parallel priority cycleway. They were first introduced in the UK in 2015.

Parallel crossings have sometimes been nicknamed "tiger crossings", but this term is ambiguous and discouraged.

Parallel crossings should be used to enable a protected cycle track or a cycle path which is separated from the pedestrian footway to cross a road. They should never be used to join shared-use pavements (which are themselves bad practice), and the crossing should always be on the direct line of the cycle path, to ensure clear and unambiguous visibility.

Parallel crossings are preferable to a toucan crossing because they prioritise walking and cycling, but the latter is more suitable where motor vehicle speeds are high, or where the road being crossed as more than one lane per direction.

While parallel crossings are a useful new tool in cycle network design, engineers are still largely unfamiliar with how to use them, and campaigners should be alert to the potentially dangerous ways that these crossings can be misused or incorrectly designed. Unfortunately some parallel crossings have already been designed in a way which deliberately takes cyclists off their direct line, placing them in the dangerous situation of approaching the crossing without full visibility of traffic on the road, and where the direction of the cycle route may not be obvious to drivers.