Bollards can be sturdy, stone life guards in school districts. We at Streetscape understand how important your child’s safety is to you. Therefore, we would like to introduce you to the wonders of bollards for safety on school property. In this quick guide, we’ll be informing you of the various types of bollards and their functions.
Hereby we will be enlightening you on how important the installment of bollards is in school districts. If we have piqued your interest, please take a quick look at our informative guide on bollards to learn exactly why these landscaping elements are needed at schools.
What are Bollards?
We are here to provide you with a quick introduction to bollards so you may feel assured that you know exactly what they are and how they exist for the safety of those little humans, and humans in general.
Commonly, bollards are short posts standing up from the ground. This is exactly what they are in accordance with the technical definition. However, they serve a much greater purpose than tripping people who do not look where they are walking. In fact, contrary to this, they are there to provide people with safety by creating a protective barrier or architectural perimeter.
How Bollards are used as a Safety Precaution on School Property:
Bollards provide safety through pedestrian-traffic control. They are designed to navigate curb-side walkers by providing them with a subtle amount of direction in terms of separating them from street traffic. They have been designed as a warning for drivers when it comes to restricted areas or to prevent vehicle and pedestrian collisions.
Preventing collisions between pedestrians and vehicles is important. A sad reality is that over 1000 child injuries occur every five years due to school-transport-related accidents. Too many children get bumped by cars on their way to school while walking, which leads to further concern regarding which prevention tactics can be set in place for school-goers and their parents.
School zone crashes are, in many instances, preventable. Bollards serve a great purpose of alerting people as to when off-limit areas are being breached, and thus encouraging them to drive safely. Safe driving habits are crucial in school districts so that fatal collision accidents may be prevented.
Most bollards are made up of study, strong materials. These landscaping elements are vertical posts which provide protection against undesired impacts. They protect people from vehicles colliding with them in high-impact forces. Bollards therefore, have the potential to protect children from injuries or fatal consequences as it forms a barrier between pedestrians and vehicle drivers.
The protective barrier they form is why they are often found along pathways. Therefore, they are also needed in school districts as they can safeguard children who pass by. During drop-off and pick-up, traffic bollards can be seen as a crucial requirement at school.
Bollards provide entry and exit door safety. Since they indicate to drivers where they can and cannot go, they provide protection for teachers and children so that they may safely enter and exit schools. At entry and exit doors, these landscaping elements are especially important at schools, as they will ensure that scholars may enter safe learning environments.
The very sight of placed bollards alone already provides you with extra security. This is because they are a sign that the workers on the premises take extra security precautions. This can be beneficial for schools with regard to recruiting new scholars and helping parents feel that their children’s safety is being taken care of.
How Secure are Bollards?
Bollards are incredibly secure as they have to act as both physical and visual barriers. Bollard posts come in various shapes, sizes, and designs. No matter their shapes, sizes or designs however, they all have a common purpose of providing protection for people and properties by creating a controlled traffic environment.
The placement of bollards around a building ensures that unwanted obstruction is avoided. A common problem in public spaces is that people will park in places they’re not supposed to, which can cause curb-side obstruction. This will prevent people from safely getting from points A to B on school premises.
Through thoughtful placement, unauthorized access to a school premise can be avoided. Schools have a large number of scholars on the premises, each of whose safety should be the number one priority. It is important for you to know what parts of the premises require the most protection, which will help you pinpoint and prevent potential risks and threats. This will determine where on the premises protection is most needed.
Bollards also limit the access and proximity between traffic and pedestrians. The placement of bollards would mean you will be limiting how close vehicles can get to school buildings or other vulnerable areas. Therefore, in order to ensure people are left feeling safe and secure at school, bollards can be placed while taking into consideration public streets, onsite roads, and parking lots.
Schools tend to have high traffic frequencies. School drop-offs and even pick-ups can be messy in terms of traffic, and extra pedestrian security can go a long way. High traffic frequencies in school areas mean that the likelihood of accidents occurring is heightened, therefore placing bollards like posts in the area will ensure the safety of all pedestrians.
When contemplating the security of bollards, the type of vehicles that drive nearby should also be taken into consideration. There are a vast amount of different types of vehicles, each of which can do a different kind of damage to school property. For example, the amount of damage which can be done by a motorcycle is not the same as the amount of damage a truck can do.
School districts have a thirty to sixty kilometres per hour speed limit. However, not all people stick to the limit as some may have reckless driving habits. Higher speed reduces the driver’s reaction time which then heightens the amount of damage that a vehicle can cause should the driver experience a crash.
The location of the school building is another factor to be taken into consideration with bollards. This is because roads are not the only hazardous potential for scholar accidents. Parking spaces, entrances, and the orientation of the building next to vehicle-passing roads are also important in the placement of bollards.
Landscaping Elements Provided by Streetscape:
The roads outside of schools can be busy in terms of traffic. Bollards will prevent people from driving in the wrong direction or may even control which vehicles have access to certain spaces. Depending on what purpose you have intended for the placement of the bollards, there are different design options with different functions to make use of.
Fixed bollards are embedded in the ground and therefore they are permanent. These bollards can securely be fixed into the ground through concrete. This provides the poles with extra strength and resistance to impact.
There are some seriously innovative designs, like automatic bollards. They are known as rising or telescopic bollards and can be controlled through pneumatics, hydraulics, or electricity. They are made out of carbon steel or stainless steel and are available in different colours which means they can be customized according to school colours.
People do not really take protective landscaping elements into consideration much. They tend to just walk by and leave the bollard unnoticed. But bollard posts have a lot of important functions. Thus, they should be placed in schools in such a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and secure.
The landscaping elements that we, at Streetscape, provide to our consumers are the best of the best. Streetscape’s steel landscaping elements are designed to withstand the impact of a low-weight vehicle, depending on the size of the bollard you choose.
In school districts, steel elements may be the best add-on. These landscaping elements are even referred to as street furniture, as they provide security and are visually pleasing. Often, they have the appealing nature of looking like artistic blockades.
Benefits of Steel Landscaping Elements:
Steel bollards enhance the security of pedestrian scholars. Steel poles are both effective and minimalistic making them highly appraised. They are effective in keeping children safe from ongoing traffic, yet they also leave enough space on sidewalks for children and parents to pass by safely.
They can be used to mark the land. This is a special benefit for schools as bollards can be used to indicate to people that they are entering school premises. This can also be a warning for vehicle drivers to slow down.
Steel bollard posts can also be used as a form of anti-ram security. Bollards create a parameter between the school and motorists who intend to trespass onto the grounds. Also, when people lose control of their cars, a bollard may suffice as a barrier to prevent the driver from damaging the property.
Some Steel Products From Streetscape:
First up we have the Round 150 Flat Top Steel bollards. These have a length of 1200 mm and a diameter of 150 mm which. This means that even though these bollard posts resist impact, they do not take up much space.
Second up is the Square 150 Flat top Steel Bollard. This bollard is easy on the eyes as it provides the school setting with a more appealing aesthetic. The black colouring, shape and size of this bollard will grant you both safety against intruding vehicles as well as make your premises look tasteful and high-class.
These barriers are suitable for school grounds. They are not just simple posts to indicate that safety precautions have been taken. They can also add aesthetics to the property, as they can be decorated and designed according to school uniforms or even school festivities.
Thus, Steel bollard posts will forever be relevant. Why? It’s simple. They can be decorated and altered as you would prefer for aesthetic enhancement while also providing you with the utmost of security and safety precautions.
Trust Streetscape to Provide you with secure and safe bollards. Streetscape is a landscaping element manufacturing company. We do not only aim to make urban spaces more functional and inviting, we also aim to elicit a sense of beauty within neighbourhoods with our tasteful landscaping elements.
Schools are where children spend most of their time. This is why the exterior of a school should make visitors and scholars feel welcomed. At Streetscape, we want to leave you feeling safe and sound, which is why we aim to provide South Africans with landscaping elements that satisfy all urban landscaping requirements.
If you are looking for loyalty, trust, affordability and efficacy, look no further than StreetScape. We will do our best to provide you with all the landscaping elements you could possibly need, keeping you secure and safe within your school environments!