TrafficGuard^® BOLLARD BLOG

Removable bollards serve as an excellent, and often less expensive, alternative to a gate.  Bollards also serve to protect facilities, property and people from unwanted vehicle intrusion in a variety of applications.  Now, removable bollard systems are being used in a wider variety of applications.  One such application is as a removable parking meter post.   By modifying a typical removable bollard and manufacturing it to accept a standard parking meter head, a removable bollard now provides serious functionality.  In areas where Municipalities want to raise revenue from parking, but often need vehicle access, they now have a solution that allows them to do both with the simple removable of a padlock.   Removable parking meter bollards also enable Municipalities to raise revenue by installing the meters only for certain special events – street fairs, farmers markets, etc.    This type of solution gives Cities and Towns great flexibility.  Removable parking meter bollards can also be ideal for placement in front of higher security facilities to protect from “smash and grab” crime.   This enables not only the collection of parking revenue, but protects facilities from intentional or even accidental vehicle intrusion.

Currently one of the most effective ways to secure facilities and protect property and people is with removable or collapsible bollards.  Bollards that can be found from a company such as TrafficGuard are not only effective in stopping unwanted vehicle access, they are also low maintenance compared with their more expensive and involved counter parts.   These bollards are manually operated and as a result do not have the problems or maintenance issues that electric or pneumatic bollards have.   Automatic bollards have issues that can often be costly from both a financial standpoint and a time standpoint.  This is particularly true in areas where salt and sand are used on roads to minimize ice in the winter.  These substances can get in the bollard mechanism and cause various maintenance issues.  Further, automatic bollards require a much more sophisticated installation that is both time consuming and very costly.  Manually operated removable bollards provide cost savings during both a relatively simple and routine installation and throughout the life of the product as most ongoing use requires minimal maintenance.   The TrafficGuard High Security Round Post Top Lock bollard is a great example of a bollard that is both highly secure and low maintenance.

2009 saw the expansion of TrafficGuard’s bollard sales into the Middle East. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq procured Trafficguard’s Round Post Key Lock RP3503 to keep ATV traffic off the sidewalks surrounding the Embassy. TrafficGuard’s Round Post Key Lock model has been a very popular product, not only at Embassy’s, but military installations around the U.S. Most of the bollards used at military installations, like these at Tinker Air Force Base, are TrafficGuard’s Round Post Key Lock model RP3506. The RP3506 being an imposing bollard at 6.625” outside diameter. However, the Round Post Key Lock is also used in a number of other applications including farmer’s markets and anti-ram-raiding applications.

2009 also saw the biggest order for collapsible bollards in the Middle East to date. The TrafficGuard Single Post was chosen for a project in Doha, Qatar called the National Convention Center Car Park. The TrafficGuard Single Post is the most popular selling item in TrafficGuard’s collapsible product line. The TrafficGuard Single Post is used in variety of applications including trails and utility access points throughout the U.S.

Bollards are used in a wide variety of applications, from keeping unwanted vehicles out of parking spaces with light duty bollards, to protecting high security access points to facilities such as Military Bases and Stadiums with heavy duty and visually intimidating bollards.
There are a couple of things to consider when selecting a bollard for a particular project. One consideration is to determine what is expected of the bollard. If the bollard is intended to be a physical deterrent, then a larger bollard should probably be considered, if the bollard is intended to simply be a visual deterrent, then a smaller bollard may be preferable.
Another consideration is how often the bollard or bollards will be used, or in other words, how often they will be collapsed or removed. If the bollard is intended to be removed or collapsed often, it may be wise to consider removable bollards as they provide a flush surface when removed. In this scenario a bollard with a flush surface will easily allow foot traffic as well as vehicle traffic to pass over without incident. If the intention is to leave them in place a majority of the time to be used only for maintenance and emergency vehicle access, collapsible bollards may be considered. The TrafficGuard Single Post was created for just this purpose as it contains a sheer pin that allows emergency vehicles to rest their bumper against the bollard and push it down with approximately 1,200 lbs. of static force.