Bollard#Removable bollards

The term is probably related to bole, meaning a tree trunk.New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 1993{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=bollard&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2013-10-26}} The earliest citation given by the Oxford English Dictionary (referring to a maritime bollard) dates from 1844, although a reference in the Caledonian Mercury in 1817 describes bollards as huge posts.An article in the 19 July 1817 edition of the Caledonian Mercury

File:E India House.jpg, Leadenhall Street, London: an engraving of 1766. Six bollards stand in front of the building.]]

File:Canaletto Arch of Septimius Severus.jpg in Rome, painted by Canaletto in 1742. Five bollards stand beyond the arch, apparently placed to protect it from vehicle damage.]]

Wooden posts were used for basic traffic management from at least the beginning of the 18th century. An early well-documented case is that of the "two oak-posts" set up next to the medieval Eleanor cross at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, in 1721, at the expense of the Society of Antiquaries of London, "to secure Waltham Cross from injury by Carriages".{{cite book |first=Nikolaus |last=Boulting |chapter=The law's delays: conservationist legislation in the British Isles |editor-first=Jane |editor-last=Fawcett |title=The Future of the Past: attitudes to conservation, 1174–1974 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |place=London |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-8230-7184-5 |page=13 }}

{{See also|Mooring}}

File:Bolder-Merwedekanaal.jpg, Netherlands features bollards made from cannons.]]

In the maritime contexts in which the term originates, a bollard is either a wooden or iron post found as a deck-fitting on a ship or boat, and used to secure ropes for towing, mooring and other purposes; or its counterpart on land, a short wooden, iron, or stone post on a quayside to which craft can be moored. The Sailor's Word-Book of 1867 defines a bollard in a more specific context as "a thick piece of wood on the head of a whale-boat, round which the harpooner gives the line a turn, in order to veer it steadily, and check the animal's velocity".{{OED|bollard}}Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press, 2006 ({{ISBN|0-7862-8517-6}}) Bollards on ships, when arranged in pairs, may also be referred to as "bitts".{{OED|bitt}}{{cite web |first=Nihar |last=Herwadkar |title=10 ship terms and definitions even smart people misuse |publisher=Marine Insight|date=5 March 2019 |url=https://www.marineinsight.com/life-at-sea/10-ship-terms-and-definitions-that-even-smart-people-misuse/ |access-date=5 June 2019 }}

File:City of London Bollard.jpg]]

Bollards can be used either to control traffic intake size by limiting movements, or to control traffic speed by narrowing the available space. Israel's Transportation Research Institute found that putting bollards at highway exits to control traffic also reduced accidents.Driver behaviour and accident records at unsignalized urban intersections. Abishai Polusa, Department of Civil Engineering & Transportation Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. June 1984. Available online 4 July 2002.

Permanent bollards can be used for traffic-control or guarding against vehicle-ramming attacks.{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/bollards-are-our-best-defense-against-the-use-of-vehicles-as-weapons.html|title=Our Best Defense Against Vehicular Terrorism Can Also Be Beautiful|first=Henry|last=Grabar|date=30 August 2017|website=Slate Magazine}} They may be mounted near enough to each other that they block ordinary cars/trucks, for instance, but spaced widely enough to permit special-purpose vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians to pass through. Bollards may also be used to enclose car-free zones. Bollards and other street furniture can also be used to control overspill parking onto sidewalks and verges.{{cite web|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/parkingmatters/pavementparking |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100408222148/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/parkingmatters/pavementparking |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-04-08 |title=Pavement parking |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=2009-07-25 }}

File:BollardsOnWorksite.jpg

File:Chodov, Chilská, před Opatovskou od Šeberova, majáček v dělicím pásu.jpg

Traffic bollards are used to highlight traffic islands. They are primarily used at intersections within the splitter islands (a raised or painted area on the approach of a roundabout used to separate entering from exiting traffic, deflect and slow entering traffic, and provide a stopping place for pedestrians crossing the road in two stages).U.S. Department of Transportation: "Roundabouts:An Informational Guide", FHWA-RD-00-067, 2000

File:Bollards2742Canthusus.jpg

Illuminated bollards are also used to supplement street signs and street lighting to provide a visual cue to approaching drivers that an obstacle exists ahead during hours of darkness and during periods of low visibility:"Road Traffic Signs and Internally Illuminated Bollards. Specification for Internally Illuminated Bollards", British Standards Institution, 1980Philip Weber, Scott Ritchie: "Internationally Recognized Roundabout Signs", Paper for the Transportation Research Board National Roundabout Conference, 2005

Internally illuminated traffic bollards have been used throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland since the 1930s, although the term "bollard" only seems to have been in common use since the late 1940s. An illuminated bollard has a recessed base light unit in the foundation to illuminate the traffic bollard from all angles.Simmonsigns, Simbol Product Specifications, 2006 The main components are housed below the road or pedestrian surface (typically a concrete surface) so that if a vehicle strikes the traffic bollard the parts below the surface are not damaged. In addition, most new modern traffic bollards installed along UK roadways today are made of materials that make them completely collapsible. When struck by a vehicle at low or high speed, the traffic bollard shell reverts to its original position with minimal or no damage to the unit.{{cite web|title=Striking a Bollard|url=http://www.simmonsigns.co.uk/cmsmedia/34322SimbolWeb.wmv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303024839/http://www.simmonsigns.co.uk/cmsmedia/34322SimbolWeb.wmv|archive-date=3 March 2012|access-date=2013-10-26|publisher=Simmonsigns.co.uk}}

Reflective bollards may also be used; they need no power or maintenance, and can be built to recover to their normal position after being struck.{{cite web|url=http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roads-and-transport-policies-plans-and-consultations/roads-and-transport-policies-and-plans/traffic-policy-and-good-practice/pedestrian-policies-and-good-practice/reflective-bollards-on-traffic-islands |title=Surrey County Council – Reflective bollards on traffic islands |publisher=Surreycc.gov.uk |access-date=2013-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030001305/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roads-and-transport-policies-plans-and-consultations/roads-and-transport-policies-and-plans/traffic-policy-and-good-practice/pedestrian-policies-and-good-practice/reflective-bollards-on-traffic-islands |archive-date=30 October 2013 }}

File:Bell bollard.png

A bell bollard is a style of short bollard designed to deflect vehicle tires. The wheel mounts the lower part of the bollard and is deflected by its increasing slope.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Manually retractable bollards (lowered by a key mechanism) are found useful in some cases because they require less infrastructure.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/urbanparkbollard |title=Urban Park Bollard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027044642/http://geocities.com/urbanparkbollard/|url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-10-27}}

The term "robotic bollards" has been applied to traffic barricades capable of moving themselves into position on a roadway.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3666989.stm |work=BBC News |title=Robotic Bollards to Take Control | date=28 April 2004}}

Flexible bollards are bollards designed to bend when struck by vehicles. They are typically made from synthetic plastic or rubber that is stiff on its own, but pliable under the weight of a car or truck. When struck, flexible bollards give way to some extent, reducing damage to vehicles and surrounding surfaces, and return to their original, upright position. Some flexible bollards do not provide physical protection from vehicles; rather they offer clear visual guidance for drivers. Other flexible bollards have been designed to provide physical protection as well as reduced damage by incorporating strong elastic materials. These can be all plastic or plastic/steel hybrids but combine varying degrees of stopping power and flexibility.{{Cite web|url=https://www.slowstop.com/assets/uploads/technical_docs/SlowStop_Bollard_White_Paper.pdf|title=REDUCING DAMAGE FROM VEHICLE-BOLLARD IMPACTS}}

{{Main article|Hostile vehicle mitigation}}

File:Bollard ramkraakbeveiliging.jpg]]

File:Security bollard-planter in Washington, D.C.jpg planters provide protection similar to that of bollards. Washington, DC]]

Bollards are used to protect buildings and people in public spaces from car ramming attacks{{cite news|title=Do bollards offer protection against vehicle attacks?|url=http://www.dw.com/en/do-bollards-offer-protection-against-vehicle-attacks/a-43300057|access-date=8 April 2018|publisher=DW|date=8 March 2018}} and accidental collisions. Related protections against deliberate attacks are wedge barriers and archer barriers.

The bollards are effective protection against deliberate attacks if properly deployed and maintained. In a serious 2025 New Orleans truck attack the attacker took advantage of bollards having been removed for repair, being temporarily replaced by portable gates and parked vehicles, which proved ineffectual.{{cite news| last=Vargas | first=Ramon Antonio | title='Worst-case scenario': when needed most, New Orleans bollards were missing in action |newspaper=The Guardian | date=3 January 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/03/new-orleans-security-bollards-attack}}

As collisions also cause damage to vehicles, operators, or the bollards themselves, new bollards have been developed that absorb some of the impact energy, lessening the violence of the collision. Some are made of forgiving plastics, and others are made of steel but fitted with an elastomer to absorb the impact energy.{{cite web |last=Oakes |first=Charles |title=PhD |url=http://www.wbdg.org/resources/bollard.php|publisher=Blue Ember Technologies, LLC|access-date=3 October 2012}}

Bollards are widely used to contribute to safety and security. The American Bar Association (ABA) states that bollards are used to contribute to homeland security.Ernest B. Abbott and Otto J. Hetzel, "Homeland Security Begins at Home: Local Planning and Regulatory Review to Improve Security", in Rufus Calhoun Young, Jr. and Dwight H. Merriam, A Legal Guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments, American Bar Association, 2006 The American National Institute of Building Sciences site—the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG)—recommends in its Design Guidance that open spaces surrounding and contiguous to buildings be included as integral parts of a security design.{{cite web|url=http://www.wbdg.org/design/spacetypes.php |title=Space Types | Whole Building Design Guide |publisher=Wbdg.org |access-date=2012-06-12}}

There are two main kinds of security-related bollard:

• Non-crash-resistant bollards.
• Crash- and attack-resistant bollards used to protect places at risk of being attacked.[http://www.wbdg.org/design/provide_security.php Security for Building Occupants and Assets, Whole Building Design Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315081503/http://www.wbdg.org/design/provide_security.php |date=15 March 2011 }}, 14 December 2010.

According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, non-crash-resistant bollards are "perceived impediments to access" and address the actions of two groups:

• Law-abiding persons who comply with civil prescriptions of behavior as defined by the manner in which bollards are put to use;
• Potentially threatening and disruptive persons for whom bollard applications are proscriptive by announcing their behavior is anticipated, and that additional levels of security await them.{{cite web|last=Oakes |first=Charles G. |url=http://www.wbdg.org/resources/bollard.php |title=The Bollard: Non-Crash and Non-Attack-Resistant Models | Whole Building Design Guide |publisher=Wbdg.org |access-date=2013-10-26}}

High security bollards are impact-tested in accordance with one or more of three major crash test ratings for vehicle barriers. These are PAS 68 (UK),{{Cite web|url=https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030273707|title=BSI PAS 68|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-04-05}} IWA-14 (International) and ASTM (US).{{Cite web|url=https://www.astm.org/Standards/F2656.htm|title=ASTM F2656 / F2656M - 18a Standard Test Method for Crash Testing of Vehicle Security Barriers|website=www.astm.org|access-date=2019-04-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cpni.gov.uk/hostile-vehicle-mitigation|title=Hostile vehicle mitigation|publisher=www.cpni.gov.uk|access-date=2019-04-05}}

Bollards have become common use for reserving parking spots from unauthorized vehicles. Parking bollards are typically situated in the centre of a parking bay as a physical obstruction. They then fold either manually or automatically to admit authorized users. These bollards are often used in smaller parking lots such as visitor parking or corporate parking lots, as an alternative to boom gates.

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF), managed by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), cited three dozen applications of bollards.{{cite web |url=http://www.ncef.org/pubs/MH/outdoor_athletic.pdf |title=NCEF Assessment Guide : Outdoor Athletic Facilities and Playgrounds |publisher=Ncef.org |access-date=2013-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029213809/http://www.ncef.org/pubs/MH/outdoor_athletic.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ncef.org/pubs/MH/grounds.pdf |title=NCEF Assessment Guide: School Grounds and Site Access Control |publisher=Ncef.org |access-date=2013-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029212057/http://www.ncef.org/pubs/MH/grounds.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 |df=dmy-all }}

According to the International Fire Code (IFC-2009) and the American National Fire Protection Association Fire Code 1 (NFPA-1) all new buildings or renovated buildings must have fire access roadways to accommodate fire apparatus and crews and other first responders. Consequently the choice of bollard styles must conform with the NFPA's Code 1710. Bollards designs must take into account the time taken to remove or collapse them to allow first responders entry to the access roadway.{{cite web |last=Oakes |first=Charles G. |url=http://www.americantrails.org/resources/trailhead/bollard-oakes-fire-protection.html |title=Bollard design for trails and fire protection |publisher=Americantrails.org |access-date=2013-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518234937/http://www.americantrails.org/resources/trailhead/bollard-oakes-fire-protection.html |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Rethinking Bollards: How Bollards Can Save Lives, Prevent Injuries and Relieve Traffic Congestion in New York City |url=https://www.reitercorp.com/uploads/1/3/1/6/131659429/rethinking_bollards_how_bollards_can_save_lives_prevent_injuries_and_relieve_traffic_congestion_in_new_york_city_transportation_alternatives.pdf |publisher=Transportation Alternatives |date=July 2007 |access-date=1 August 2022}}

File:Geelong Bollards.jpg]]

File:Bronze book bollards in front of Cambridge University Library.jpg, by Harry Gray]]

In Geelong, Victoria, Australia, decorative bollards, sculpted and painted by Jan Mitchell, are placed around the city to enhance the landscape as a form of outdoor public sculpture. Usually they are made of timber, minimally modified from the traditionally cylindrical, wooden, maritime bollard shape, but brightly painted to resemble human figures. Such figures – which may be historical or contemporary, particular or generic – are sited singly or in clusters along the waterfront and in other areas where people gather. Decorative bollards have become a well-known feature of the city of Geelong and reflect its history as a major Australian port.{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/ab8/sunnyrose/bphotos.html |title=Geelong Bollards |publisher=Angelfire.com |access-date=2013-10-26}}

In Antwerp, Belgium, artist Eddy Gabriel transformed a bollard to look like a toadstool in 1993. This example was followed by other artists, turning the quayside of the river Scheldt into a street art gallery.{{cite web|author=witzenstein |url=http://witzenstein.blogspot.com/2007/07/who-told-you-not-to-believe-in.html |title=Witzenstein: Who told you not to believe in fairytales? |publisher=Witzenstein.blogspot.com |date=2007-07-24 |access-date=2012-06-12}}

In Norwich, England, a set of 21 bollards was installed in 2008 in the Lanes area north of City Hall, designed by artist Oliver Creed and commissioned by the City Council as part of a regeneration programme.{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Cocke |year=2013 |title=Public Sculpture of Norfolk and Suffolk |series=Public Sculpture of Britain |volume=16 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |place=Liverpool |isbn=978-1-84631-712-5 |pages=64–5 }} They are coloured "madder red", in reference to the red dye extracted from the madder plant and used for dying cloth, one of the city's major industries during the 16th century; and they bear bronze finials also alluding to local history. 10 of these depict the madder plant, while the other 11 have unique designs, usually relevant to the specific location in which the bollard is placed, including a scene of sheep-shearing, a Green Man, a swan's head in Swan Lane, and so on.{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/sets/72157604048930332/detail/ |first=Leo |last=Reynolds |title=Norwich Bollards: full set of photos of bollard finials |publisher=flickr |access-date=15 June 2013 |date=16 December 2007 }}

On the forecourt of Cambridge University Library, England, a line of 14 bronze bollards made to resemble piles of books was installed in 2009. This work, Ex Libris, was created by sculptor Harry Gray. The ten outer bollards are static, but the "books" making up the four central bollards can be swivelled, so that the lettering on their spines aligns to form the Latin phrase Ex Libris ("from/out of the books"), commonly used on bookplates.{{cite web |url=http://harrygraysculpture.weebly.com/cambridge-university-library.html |title=Cambridge University Library Forecourt. Cambridge. 2009 |publisher=Harry Gray |access-date=29 May 2015 }}{{cite news |url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2009/09/is-it-a-bollard-is-it-a-sculpture-is-it-a-book.html |first=Mary |last=Beard |author-link=Mary Beard (classicist) |title=A Don's Life: Is it a bollard? Is it a sculpture? Is it a book? |newspaper=TLS: The Times Literary Supplement |date=11 September 2009 |access-date=29 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606201224/http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2009/09/is-it-a-bollard-is-it-a-sculpture-is-it-a-book.html |archive-date=6 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/jan/04/germaine-greer-cambridge-university-library |first=Germaine |last=Greer |author-link=Germaine Greer |title=My favourite library is being transformed into a beacon of naffness |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 January 2010 |access-date=29 May 2015 }}

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File:Herculaneum Bollard.jpg|Ancient Roman bell bollard in Herculaneum, Italy

File:St Helen's bollard.JPG|Old cannon used as bollard, outside the church of St Helen's Bishopsgate, London

File:Um velho farol - panoramio.jpg|Old cannon used as a mooring bollard, near the entrance of the Grand Harbour, Malta

File:Mooring bollard at sunset, Lyme Regis.jpg|Mooring bollard, Lyme Regis

File:Bollard East London.jpg|Late 19th or early 20th-century bollard in Spitalfields, east London

File:Frans Koppelaar - Backlight Langestraat.jpg|Amsterdammertjes in an Amsterdam street, in the painting Backlight Langestraat (1993) by Frans Koppelaar

File:Lepe beach bollards.jpg|Mooring bollards at Lepe Beach, Hampshire, England, installed in 1944 for the use of craft destined to take part in the D-Day landings

File:Whitetree Rdbt 2.jpg|Internally illuminated bollards direct traffic in England

File:Roman Bollard illuminated.jpg|Internally illuminated traffic bollard in Rome, Italy

File:Lubetkin Spa Green Wells loggia.jpg|Bollards separating pavement (sidewalk) from roadway at the Spa Green Estate, Clerkenwell, London

File:Stainless steel bollard SSP150.JPG|Stainless steel bollards

File:Urban Park Bollard Battery Park NYC.jpg|Manually retractable bollard at Battery Park, New York City

File:Removable bollard removed.JPG|A removable metal bollard out of its socket in London

File:Traffic bollard in Sofia lets the tram pass by tehn deploys again 20090406 004.JPG|Rising bollards can retract to allow passage of streetcars in Sofia, Bulgaria

File:Truck collision with a rebounding bollard.jpg|Truck collision with a rebounding bollard

File:Xiasi Whitewater Slalom Course 1 Guizhou China.jpg|Green plastic bollards, artificial whitewater course, Xiasi, Majiang, Guizhou, China

File:Painted Bollard, Winchester 26.jpg|Decorated bollard in Winchester, England

File:Bollards on Payn Street in Saint Helier, Jersey.jpg|Cast iron bollards in Saint Helier, Jersey, designed by Sir Antony Gormley

File:20131207 Istanbul 054.jpg|Cannonball-shaped bollards in Istanbul, Turkey

File:16-01-11-Wien-Schwarzweißfilm-01.jpg|Museumsquartier Vienna

File:BEL Brussels Airport 001 2016 - Ashtray.jpg|A bollard that also serves as an ashtray at Brussels Airport

File:Bollards protection a natural gas entry at the St Martin Shopping Centre in Chomedey, Quebec.jpg|5 bollards protecting natural gas entries at the St Martin Shopping Centrehttp://www.trouvezleamontreal.com/app/obj/?oid=13145 {{dead url|date=May 2022}} in Chomedey, Quebec

File:Bollards protecting a fire hydrant.jpg|2 bollards protecting a fire hydrant at the Centre commercial Saint-Martin

File:Bollard protecting a natural gas entry at a McDonalds in Chomedeyl, Quebec.jpg|2 bollards protecting a natural gas entry at a McDonald's in Chomedey, Quebec

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Amsterdammertje
• Automatic number-plate recognition
• Coal-tax post
• Guard rail
• Guard stone
• Highway location marker
• Highway marker
• Jersey barrier
• Milestone
• Stanchion
• Sump buster
• Traffic barrier
• Traffic cone

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book |first=Cathy |last=Ross |title=Bollardology: observing the City of London |location=London |publisher=Quickfry Books |year=2022 |isbn=9781399921237 }}

{{Commons category multi|Decorated bollards|Mooring bollards|Traffic bollards}}

• {{Wiktionary inline|bollard}}

{{Road types}}

Category:Road infrastructure

Category:Road safety

Category:Street furniture

Category:Streetworks

Category:Traffic signs