what is the central part of a motorway called?

English translation: median strip (AmE) / central reservation (BrE)

15:02 Jun 9, 2004
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Transport / Transportation / Shipping
English term or phrase: what is the central part of a motorway called?
In Spanish it's BERMA CENTRAL, but the dic translation of BERMA gives HARD SHOULDER which refers to the SIDES of the motorway.

What is the central part of a motorway called, the bit with space and barriers on either side of the space?
Lia Fail (X)
Spain
Local time: 11:21
Selected answer:median strip (AmE) / central reservation (BrE)
Explanation:
Depending where
Selected response from:

Manuel Plaza
Spain
Local time: 11:21
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +23median strip (AmE) / central reservation (BrE)
Manuel Plaza
5 +11central reservation
Mary Worby
3 +5median / median strip
Cilian O'Tuama
4 +1motorway central reservation (UK) median strip (US)
Kim Metzger
4divider strip
Alexander Demyanov


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +23
median strip (AmE) / central reservation (BrE)


Explanation:
Depending where

Manuel Plaza
Spain
Local time: 11:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MJ Barber
1 min

agree  Joao Vieira
1 min

agree  Kim Metzger
6 mins

agree  George Rabel: ~
7 mins

agree  Heidi Stone-Schaller: or just median
8 mins

agree  Rajan Chopra
13 mins

agree  Melanie Nassar: I can only vouch for median strip, central reservation could be a foreign language :-), but i see from Mary Worby's answer that it must be correct.
20 mins

agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
23 mins

agree  jccantrell: yep, median strip in the USA. Borders the #1 lane in California.
49 mins

agree  airmailrpl: median strip
1 hr

agree  Ray Luo
1 hr

agree  Narasimhan Raghavan
1 hr

agree  kellyn (X): yes, in the US, even 'median' by itself is fine. ['island' could be another option in some contexts]
1 hr

agree  Alexandra Tussing
1 hr

agree  Bob Kerns (X)
2 hrs

agree  Tony M: I can certainly agree for BE; I've come across 'median' on its own in AE.
3 hrs

agree  Alison Schwitzgebel: Central reservation in Scotland, and my US hubby assures me that it's called the median strip on the other side of the pond
3 hrs

agree  Asghar Bhatti
4 hrs

agree  Julia Gal: I've only ever heard of central reservation, but then I'm not American...
5 hrs

agree  DGK T-I: agree 'central reservation' UK ('median strip' appears in a number of official looking US,AU,NZ and even an IE refs - has Australasia abandoned the central reservation?)
6 hrs

agree  Alfa Trans (X)
1 day 1 hr

agree  chica nueva: median strip to me in NZ (never heard of the other one...)
1 day 20 hrs

agree  Mathew Robinson: definately 'central reservation' for UK English.
2 days 1 hr
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1 min   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +11
central reservation


Explanation:
This is it in British English!

HTH

Mary

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 mins (2004-06-09 15:04:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This is an extract from the Highway Code! ;-)

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/23.shtml

Mary Worby
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:21
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  cmwilliams (X)
4 mins

agree  Melanie Nassar: in all fairness, I have to concede that UK usage counts for something too, even if we don't understand it :-)
22 mins

agree  Rajan Chopra
23 mins

agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
24 mins

agree  Aisha Maniar: yes, this is what it's called in the UK...SOME of us do understand!!
46 mins

neutral  airmailrpl: UK population total rises to 59.2 million in 2002..U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 6/9/2004 at 12:25:18 PM EDT is 293,451,039..maybe we should put English vocabulary to a vote!!
1 hr

agree  Alexandra Tussing
1 hr

agree  awilliams
1 hr

agree  Tony M: Yes, naturally, for BE
3 hrs

agree  Margaret Lagoyianni
4 hrs

agree  Julia Gal: Yes of course. airmailrpl: British English is also used in Australia, New Zealand...
5 hrs

agree  DGK T-I: agree UK
6 hrs
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
motorway central reservation (UK) median strip (US)


Explanation:
In German it's called a Mittelstreifen. A landscaped barrier located along the centre line.


    Dictionary of Landscape and Urban Planning
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 04:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  airmailrpl: median strip
1 hr
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
median / median strip


Explanation:
there may well be a more common word/term

Merriam-Webster: median strip - a paved or planted strip dividing a highway into lanes according to direction of travel

or
http://www.yourencyclopedia.net/Median.html
Median strip of a road
On an expressway, motorway, or autobahn, the median is the strip of grass or the wall which separates opposing lanes of traffic. This is necessary because of safety concerns, due to the high speed of automobiles on both sides, and the potential danger of a disastrous head-on collision at the combined speed of both vehicles.
Medians function secondarily as "green areas", beautifying roadways. Some jurisdictions mow their medians, others scatter wildflower seeds which germinate and re-seed themselves every year, while still others create extensive plantings of trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials and decorative grasses.





    Reference: http://www.yourencyclopedia.net/Median.html
Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 11:21
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  NancyLynn: that's what it is to me, in Canada
10 mins

agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
21 mins

agree  airmailrpl: median strip
1 hr

agree  Orla Ryan
2 hrs

agree  Alfa Trans (X)
1 day 1 hr
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
divider strip


Explanation:
-

Alexander Demyanov
Local time: 06:21
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4
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