Articles and Features

Illuminated Traffic Bollards

While illuminated traffic bollards aren't classified as streetlights, they are, after all, illuminated street furniture and have long been an integral part of the British road infrastructure. To this end, I felt that they warranted some attention on the site; if only to highlight some of the many varied types, shapes, and applications of traffic bollard to be found. These mundane illuminated road signs are to be seen on virtually every road and road junction in the UK and continue to play an essential role in road safety.

Triplex/Pudsey Diamond HE65 3-aspect bollards at Wednesbury, West Midlands in October 2005. Steel traffic bollards are becoming a rare sight in the UK in 2006, but Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has to be one of the last major users of illuminated steel bollards in Britain.

Triplex HE65/600 600m diameter single aspect steel traffic bollard, with a modern plastic 'Haldo' plain-faced bollard in the background. Photo: Pennfields Wolverhampton, April 2006

Triplex HE65/600 single aspect traffic bollard, showing rear mounted access doors. The peeling paint and rusting access door illustrates one of the problems associated with steel bollards. Wolverhampton Council no longer install metal bollards, any remaining examples such as this one are gradually being replaced. Photo: Pennfields Wolverhampton, April 2006.

   

Triplex HE75/600 600m daimeter 3-aspect steel bollard. Even though it may look like it's made from fibreglass, the three aspect mounting head is also fabricated from steel. Photo: Long Eaton, Derbyshire, September 2006

Met Traffic Ltd 'stainless steel' single-aspect traffic bollard in the foreground, with a Triplex HE65 bollard of more pleasing appearance behind it. The Met Traffic stainless steel bollard is still manufactured and is used extensively throughout the Sandwell Metropolitan area. Sandwell Metropolitan Council have reverted back to using steel traffic bollards because of the difficulties in keeping modern plastic bollards clean; the problem being that plastic bollards become ingrained with dirt over time and this affects their luminosity and night time effectiveness. Photo: Oldbury, West Midlands, May 2006.

RSF (Road Signs Franco Ltd) plain faced 3-aspect steel bollard at Sedgemoor Park, Lanesfield, Wolverhampton, September 2006.

Modern Haldo illuminated plastic traffic bollard on a Simmons 'Global' uplighter base. Photo: Lanesfield, Wolverhampton, September 2006.

A damaged RSF single-aspect steel bollard in Finchfield Lane, Wolverhampton. Photo: March 2005.

Fibreglass-sided Triplex bollard for 4-aspect display; these bollards have no access door and have to be lifted from their bases for maintenance. Photo: Finchfield Lane, Wolverhampton in March 2005.

Thought to be a True-signs design, this steel bollard is pictured gently rusting away at a major road junction in Brownhills, West Midlands in the Walsall MC area. Photo February 2005.

The same steel bollard at Brownhills showing the square side appertures and access door. The picture was taken with an old digital camera, so is a little blurry. My thanks to Mike Barford in indentifying the unit as a Truesigns product.

Believed to be Haldo 'Halo' spring-back bollards, which is just as well because the bollard nearest appears to have been hit several times by passing traffic! Photo: Chillwell, Nottinghamshire, 2006. My thanks to Mike Barford in indentifying these units as Haldo products.

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Copyright(c) 2006 Claire Pendrous. All rights reserved.

Please note that all pictures are by Claire Pendrous, or are part of the Claire Pendrous photographic collection unless otherwise stated; none of these images can be copied without obtaining prior permission.