Bollards are strong and sturdy posts that have a wide variety of practical purposes, including being highly functional for use in parking areas. In this guide, we outline the three different types of bollards that you can use in a parking area and the 5 different ways that you can use bollards in a parking area to increase functionality and safety. Street Scape produces high-quality and affordable steel and concrete bollards that will be the perfect addition of practicality and protection to your parking area.
Different Types of Bollards for Parking Areas:
When you are considering installing bollards in your parking area, you may not be aware that you will need to choose between different types of bollards. For a parking area, you have the options of permanent bollards, removable bollards, and retractable bollards. We have outlined these three different types of bollards to assist you to make the best bollard decision for your parking area.
Permanent Bollards: As the name suggests, permanent bollards are bollards that are fixed into place permanently. Permanent bollards can either be embedded into the ground or surface mounted using a plate and bolts. Permanent bollards are available as either steel or concrete bollards. Both steel and concrete bollards are strong and durable bollard options perfectly suited to various functions in a parking area.
Removable Bollards: Removable bollards are bollards that can be securely fixed into place and then taken away if necessary. Removable bollards will have a flat plate with a sleeve that allows the bollard to be securely attached or easily removed from the plate. Removable bollards are typically steel as steel offers secure protection but is also light enough to be easily moved if needed. Removable bollards are handy in parking areas when you need to control access to certain parts of your parking area.
Retractable Bollards: Retractable bollards are technologically advanced bollards. Retractable bollards are controlled by an automatic system that allows them to rise out of the ground to act as a protective barrier and descend into the ground to allow access to a parking area. Retractable bollards are made from steel to allow for the mechanisms to work adequately.
Uses for Bollards in Parking Areas:
From shopping centres to restaurants to businesses, having an allocated parking area is essential. By increasing your customer’s accessibility to designated parking on your property, you will increase the likelihood of them visiting your business as they will not be deterred by a lack of allocated and safe parking. When you are looking to create a parking area on your shopping centre, restaurant, or business premise, bollards are the perfect solution to many of your needs. To demonstrate, we have outlined the top 5 uses for bollards in parking areas and the ideal type of bollard for the best functionality.
1) Creating a Designated Parking Area:
While parking areas may appear to be simple allotments with painted parking spaces, there is a lot of planning that goes into the creation of a parking area. You need to measure the allocated space and determine how many car parking spaces you can provide, based on the different codes for parking size and parking angles. Other aspects such as surface strength, flow of movement, accessibility from the street, painting, lighting, and access ramps all need to go into the planning of your parking area.
One of the aspects you need to consider when planning your parking area is how you will create the definitive perimeter of your parking lot. You can simply paint a solid line on the floor and be done with it, but that will not create a true distinction between your parking area and the surrounding space by your shopping centre, restaurant, or business. One of the best and most affordable ways to create a designated parking area is by placing bollards around the perimeter.
Bollards will be an easily visible signal to drivers that there is a clear and distinct parking area allocated to the building. For parking area designation, we would recommend permanent steel or concrete bollards. Permanent steel and concrete bollards are strong and durable, meaning that once they are installed, you will not need to worry about maintaining or replacing your parking area perimeter bollards.
2) Controlled Access to Parking Spaces:
Many parking areas will have a boom-gate or a security guard posted at the entrance to control vehicle access into the parking area. While this is an effective solution to control who can enter and exit your parking area, it does not offer any assistance with controlling the vehicles within your parking area.
There are many cases where you would need to have controlled parking access within a parking area. If you are a business, you may need to have a specific section of your parking area designated for employee parking. Your business or restaurant may also need supplies delivered to your property, meaning you need clear access to specifically allocated delivery truck parking spaces.
If you require controlled access within your parking area, bollards are the perfect solution. For this function, you can choose between removable bollards and retractable bollards. Removable bollards are an excellent choice as they are a more affordable option, but you will need to either physically remove the bollards yourself each time you need access into the parking area or have someone allocated to do this. Removable bollards are an effortless option for controlled access, but they can be extremely expensive.
3) Protect Cars from Damage and Theft:
One of the easiest ways to invite drivers to park in your parking area, and thus visit your shopping centre, restaurant, or business, is to offer them a safe and protected space for their vehicles. People will easily be deterred from your parking area if they feel that their cars are at risk of damage or theft. One way to offer your customers or clients peace of mind is to install bollards around the perimeter of your parking area.
Bollards around the perimeter of your parking area will both offer a distinct perimeter line for your parking area and act as a protective barrier for the cars parked in the parking lot. Bollards around the perimeter are especially essential if your parking area is located next to a busy road, where the threat of a vehicle losing control and colliding into one of the parked cars in your parking area is high. For this functionality, we would recommend permanent concrete bollards as they offer the highest resistance against vehicle impact.
Car theft from parking areas is also a major concern for drivers. Bollards do not only just prevent vehicle damage, but they can also act as a major deterrent against car theft in a parking area. If the potential thieves feel that there is no easy exit out of the parking lot and that measures have been taken to ensure vehicle safety in the parking area, they may not be as eager to use your parking area as their target for car theft. To increase car safety from theft in your parking area, you should pair your steel or concrete bollards with boom-gate access or security guards for ultimate security.
4) Safeguard Buildings:
Keeping cars protected is not your only safety concern in a parking area. If your parking area is closely located next to your business, restaurant, or your shopping centre storefronts, you will also need to ensure that if a driver loses control of their vehicle within the parking lot or the driver leaves the handbrake down and the car starts to roll, that these buildings are kept protected. Should a vehicle collide into your employee’s office or a bustling shop, the injuries and expenses could be devastating.
One way to keep buildings next to parking areas protected is to have bollards positioned outside the building. A line of bollards positioned in front of the building will create a defensive barrier between the building and a potential vehicle accident, thus keeping your business, shopping centre, restaurant, and any visiting customers or clients protected. For building protection, we highly recommend permanent concrete bollards for their strength and vehicle impact resistance.
5) Guide Direction of Cars:
One final useful function of bollards in parking areas is to direct the flow of car movement within your parking area. If you have a separate entrance and exit in your parking area, you can ensure that cars cannot drive in the incorrect direction with tactically positioned bollards. For this purpose, we would recommend either permanent steel or concrete bollards.
In addition, if you are performing any repairs or alterations to your parking area, you can use bollards to direct cars in the desired direction and thus avoid any construction, workers, or danger zones that could cause damage to the vehicles. For this temporary need, we would recommend the functionality of removable steel bollards.
Street Scape Concrete Bollards for Parking Areas:
Street Scape manufactures an extensive range of bollards perfectly suited to any of your parking area needs. We have permanent steel and concrete bollards for parking area designation, car protection, and building safeguarding. We also have removable steel bollards for controlling vehicle access to parking lots within your parking area and for temporarily guiding the flow of car movement within your parking area.
When it comes to bollards for parking areas, our concrete bollards are your top choice. Our concrete bollards are made from the highest standard of cement, aggregates, sand, and reinforcement. This ensures our concrete bollards will offer ultimate strength and durability for the desired function in your parking area.
Not only are our concrete bollards highly functional, but they also offer an aesthetic benefit for your parking area. We have a diverse range of designs for our concrete bollards, allowing you to create a parking area that is cohesive to the style of your shopping centre, business, or building. You can have our concrete bollards finished in your desired look so that the concrete bollards are the perfect touch of aesthetic to your practical parking area.
About Street Scape:
Street Scape is a Cape Town-based manufacturer of landscaping elements. We produce an extensive variety of landscaping elements designed to increase the functionality and aesthetic of your urban landscaping project. From concrete bollards to bins to benches, we offer the total solution for your landscaping elements needs.
While we are based in Cape Town, we can deliver our landscaping elements to the whole of South Africa. Once you have placed your landscaping elements order, your products will be expertly manufactured and then delivered to your home, business, or project site by our reliable delivery service. We are excited to be a part of your landscaping project.
Increase the functionality, safety, and aesthetic of your parking area with Street Scape steel and concrete bollards.