A bollard is a short post placed at intervals to define or block off an area, or to block vehicles from entering an area. Not all bollards are the same. There are a variety of types of bollards that are made from different materials and designs to suit various functions. To choose the right bollards for your needs, you must choose the right type of bollard for your project and goal, as well as the right materials and installation.
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Bollards fit into three main categories: decorative, safety and security. Each category is designed for different functions. It is important to choose bollards from the category that meets your durability needs.
Decorative bollards have a low impact rating and are designed to line a pathway to direct traffic in an orderly manner. Lights can also be added to these bollards. Decorative bollards are usually installed 4’ to 6’ apart and are bolted to the ground. Common materials for decorative bollards are aluminum, cast iron, plastic, wood or concrete.
Safety bollards have a medium impact rating and are suitable for blocking or directing traffic or blocking entrance into an area. They are typically made out of steel, stainless steel or aluminum. Safety bollards are usually spaced 4’ to 5’ feet apart to block cars from driving between them. Installation requires an engineered footing with a concrete enclosure and structural cage.
Security bollards have a high impact rating and are designed to protect people and property from intentional vehicle intrusion. They are made out of steel or stainless steel and are typically spaced as little as 3’ apart. Installation requires an engineered footing with a concrete enclosure and structural cage.
In addition to the type of bollard, you need to consider materials, functional design, footing type and spacing when choosing a bollard setup.
The most common materials bollards are made of are steel, stainless steel, cast iron, aluminum, or recycled plastic.
The most common bollard designs are fixed, removable, collapsible, retractable manual, and retractable automatic.
The footing secures the bollard to the ground. Standard footings secure the bollard to the ground using concrete and reinforcing steel.
Spacing between bollards is determined by what you need to keep out and what you need to allow in.
Bollards come in various shapes, sizes and designs, and they are an excellent solution for a wide range of applications. At Blockaides, we work with customers who have diverse structure and usage needs for bollards, and we help them create the unique design they want for their project.
If you’re curious about how you can use bollards, look at our list of common applications.
Versatile and durable, bollards work well for many different purposes. You have several options to choose from depending on your unique requirements, so evaluate your application and consider which bollard design would work best for you.
Bollards can keep drivers from getting in the wrong lanes, on the curb or in other restricted areas. They can also serve as a visual guide to help people know where to go as they navigate a street, merge onto a lane or turn onto a new road. When you set up bollards along high-risk areas, such as bike or pedestrian paths, you can help drivers stay in their lane and protect passersby.
If you’re looking for a solution to protect your parking lot from intruders, bollards are an excellent way to restrict access and safeguard vehicles inside. Access control and safety devices like bollards serve as visual deterrents that bar vandalism, raids of adjacent buildings and other risks.
Guide visitors through drive-thru lanes with bollards to direct them along the right path, maintain order and minimize confusion from drivers about where to go. These access control devices can help drivers stay in their lane as they follow the drive-thru while safely keeping space for other individuals in their cars.
With bollards in factories and warehouses, you can more easily direct inventory loads, forklifts and pallet trucks and workers to the right locations throughout a facility. These access control and safety devices can help maintain a seamless flow of traffic during daily operations, which protects operators, floor workers and inventory while optimizing efficient workflow.
Bollards are ideal for several different uses at retail locations, from directing parking to guiding the flow of foot traffic in and out of the building. Protecting building storefronts is particularly critical — doing so can ensure access for company vehicles or unloading trucks. These safety devices can also help safeguard storefronts from crashes due to careless driving, slippery road conditions or other safety risks.
You can install bollards as close together as you need and choose whatever style and material best suits your purpose. The only rules are that you must choose a material and an installation that is strong enough for your purpose and spacing that will effectively block the vehicles you are trying to prevent from entering the area.
Whether you want to use bollards for directing traffic and parking, protecting a space or guiding pedestrians, Blockaides is here to help. We offer customized solutions to match your requirements and deliver the right design, size and functional specifications you need from your bollards. We can work with specific aesthetics and applications to ensure you get the best solutions for your needs.
If you’d like to learn more about our services, contact us to request a quote today.
Modern day bollards are sturdy posts which block vehicle access from restricted roads or pedestrian areas. While you may not have known this bollard definition off hand, you probably see these simple yet sturdy structures nearly everywhere you go, from parking lots to bike paths.
Originally, however, these structures were neither simple posts nor primarily used for traffic control. Historically speaking, bollards were set up along piers and boat docks to assist with tying up boats and were made from old canons whose muzzles were buried so that just the bases appearing above ground for ropes to attach to. Some of these canon bollards can still be seen along old docks, like in the picture below.
The most common bollard type these days is a simple metal post with a bollard cover in a highly visible color like yellow. But they don't always look so industrial. More decorative bollard styles like the ones which line bike paths and walkways are more elaborate, elegant, and may even serve double purposes as light fixtures or bike locks.
We'll discuss these various bollard types below.
In this post we'll cover:
1. What is a bollard post?
2. What is a bollard cover?
3. What is a bollard used for?
Contact us to discuss your requirements of road blocker meaning. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
As discussed above, in its most basic form, a bollard post is a simple steel post installed to block or impede traffic and protect both buildings and pedestrians.
Some bollard posts are sturdier than others with some even designed to be truly crash-resistant so that they can withhold impact and protect both buildings and people from car-ramming attacks. These crash-resistant bollards must pass impact-resistance tests. High security buildings such as government facilities may secure their grounds with this type of crash-resistant bollard, especially if there's a concern for vehicle-based terrorist attacks or ram-raiding burglaries. Cars are powerful forces, after all, and it takes more than a simple steel post to stop a high-speed impact.
Even so, non-crash-resistant bollards can still successfully increase safety. After all, it's hard for a layperson to tell from the outer appearance exactly how impact-resistant a bollard is. This alone can dissuade vehicle attacks. Whether the bollard is truly impact resistant or not, the driver notices that vehicle impediments have been installed.
Businesses who want to protect their storefronts with these sturdy bollard posts often want to do so without greatly disrupting the attractive storefront appearance they've carefully designed to attract customers and create curb appeal. In short, they want their security bollard to blend in.
On the other hand, warehouse and factory workers may want to accentuate how noticeable and visible these safety barriers are. They want their security bollards to stand out even more!
This is why bollard covers are about as common as bollards themselves. These simple, high-density plastic covers slip directly over standard bollards and fit snugly on top without adhesives. Many also allow for the addition of reflective tape to best optimize for safety.
This allows businesses to optimize for visibility or coordinate with existing design themes.
As discussed above, bollards can keep pedestrians and storefronts safe from accidental or intentional vehicle damage by either implying impenetrability, or by creating a truly impenetrable barrier.
But we can look at the purpose of a bollard a little more granularly as well.
It is very common for parking lots and streets to require permanent separation from other traffic areas or from pedestrian areas. For instance there may be work areas which are closely connected to parking lots, but must be protected from vehicles. Or there may be streets which are strictly for walkers and bikers.
In these cases, in-ground or surface mounting is not an issue, because the bollard will be permanently in place once installed.
Some store fronts choose to use large concrete planters as their security bollards. Again, this is an ideal choice for situations where a permanent barrier is needed since these heavy structures would be difficult to move once in place.
Many situations call for temporary or scheduled traffic blockage. For instance some cities allow their main street to accommodate traffic on the weekdays, and pedestrians on the weekends. Other streets may open or close to traffic based on business hours or seasonality.
In such cases as these, retractable bollards are particularly useful. These bollards fit into in-ground sleeves. When extended, they look like ordinary bollards, but they can be lowered down into the sleeves to be flush with the ground when traffic is allowed.
Even though they are not sturdy enough to actually impede vehicle penetration, there are a number of bollards which simply serve as visual guidelines for where traffic is or isn't allowed to go.
These traffic bollards tend to be made from durable but lightweight plastics and enhanced with reflective tape or traffic safety coloring. You may find these lightweight bollards along bike lanes for instance.
Like traffic bollards, media bollards are also made from more lightweight materials which can be set up and torn down easily. They have broad surfaces however, to allow for posting signage.
Each of these bollards are meant less for physically impeding traffic penetration and more for warning drivers about where they can and can't go.
When you need to line an entire walkway or bike path with safety bollards, it's common sense for these structures to offer additional functionality. For instance bollards with built-in lighting help to increase visibility and safety for bicyclists and walkers without the need for expensive outdoor lamp posts.
Speaking of bike paths, it does not take much to transform a security bollard into one which can accommodate bike locking, but a simple bollard post cannot safely do this. Bike lock bollards can be positioned periodically throughout a line of standard bollards so that bicyclists can have a safe place to lock their bikes. Usually a simple circular loop along the bollard is all that's needed for safe bicycle parking.
If you'd like to read more about bollards specifically for bike paths and walkways, this post can help!
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