Walking around The Moor Market or up Fargate on your Saturday shop, you probably won’t take be paying too much attention to the area layout and local traffic flow, and why would you? In fact, you probably won’t have a care in the world as you go about your weekend business.
That is, of course, how things are designed to be. City centres, retail parks, major walkways and the like are all built to safely direct and moderate large amounts of footfall, but none of us tend, or care, to know how it’s done.
At the heart of things lies the humble bollard – a fairly inconspicuous structure seen hundreds to thousands of times throughout every UK city. Bollards and barriers combine to perform what is known as “landscape protection” around populated areas, but what exactly is the point?
What is landscape protection?
Landscape protection is a rather fancy term for a very simple but important process. The primary aim is the assurance of protection in any space, providing safety and restriction to public spaces in a practical, aesthetically sound nature.
The most obvious and everyday examples lie in the bollards and barriers placed at the top of shopping high streets and footway access points to retail parks, as a clear cordon to vehicles. But landscape protection plays its part in many areas, from canal banks to car parks.
You might not notice them – which is the intention – but they play a huge part in creating a safe and enjoyable experience within heavily populated areas.
A multi-faceted safety device
Bollard and barrier cordons might be simple in their nature, but their effectiveness means they offer multi-faceted safety benefits, from minor concerns to major threat prevention.
By and large, most setups are created to keep vehicles away from high footfall areas to keep pedestrians safe by managing and calming traffic. Versatile landscape protection, like auto-retracting bollards, allow for supply access when and where necessary, whilst retaining their primary safety feature.
At the other end of the spectrum, landscape protection also acts as a major terror deterrent. London, in particular, is now awash with anti-terror bollards, positioned in front of schools, banks, government offices, museums, shopping areas and plenty of other locations.
Acting as visual containment as well as a barrier to those on the outside, modern landscape protection is a dynamic safety solution.
An additional aesthetic?
You might not think much of the aesthetics of your bog-standard bollard, but they’re actually widely used to augment the look and layout of an area. Head on over to the Marshall’s landscape protection page, and you’ll find nearly 100 bollard designs to choose from, ranging from traditional stone to shapely cast iron and plenty more outlandish and architecturally interesting structures.
In some cases, decorative bollards serve more as an architectural aesthetic than a functional barrier. When it comes to store front fixtures and walkways, bollards can create a sense of uniformity as well as serving a practical purpose. LED bollards can be incorporated in a city centre’s ambient lighting at night, while providing low-level guidance to pedestrians.
So, more dynamic, diverse and pleasing to look at than most of us might think, landscape protection will continue to play an understated but essential role in our cities.
