How bollards can help prevent school parking problems

Across the UK, nurseries, infant schools, junior, primary and secondary schools all share one thing in common – parking problems. Parents seeking to save time on the school run by parking as closely to school entry points as possible are causing headaches for schools and local residents alike, leading to repeated calls for parents to fall in line, which seemingly fall on deaf ears.

None more so is the problem highlighted in that of busy, growing, successful schools where the number of drop-off and pick-ups increase year on year. The growing traffic to the schools means that parents are in even more of a rush to drop off their kids and do it in as little time as possible. This leads them to park in unathorised areas such as on verges and pathways and in areas that cause road blockages, obstruct traffic and block footpaths for pedestrians.

Despite the best efforts of many schools, launching safety campaigns, contacting parents by email, phone and by post as well as verbally warning repeat offenders – they have had no luck in easing the problem. Many even find that despite having double yellow lines painted and sign posts placed to warn drivers, the problem persists.

So, what can schools do to get tough on illegal parking? One key way that schools can clamp down on this problem is to consider installing bollards. Bollards such as the GA7276H operate with an electrohydraulic mechanism which means they can be raised and lowered according to need. So, if there times when, say trade vehicles, require parking by the school then you can allow them access. During times that no access is needed the bollards can be raised to prevent unauthorized parking and send a strong message to parents.

If your school is experiencing these types of problems, then please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss your options. We offer a value for money service with well-engineered quality bollards manufactured to your specific requirements. For total peace of mind, we offer nationwide maintenance contracts on our own bollards and on existing perimeter security equipment made by other manufacturers. To find out more please call us on 01522 682 255 or click here to arrange a callback.

Bollards – a vital tool to protect the public from vehicular assaults

Unimposing and commonplace in public areas, bollards are often ignored or only subconsciously acknowledged by the public as they go about their business. However, they play a critical role in their safety and increasingly are being turned to by councils and organisations as a security tool.

While bollards have always played a crucial role in defending pedestrians from road traffic accidents and diverting traffic away from areas where there are lots of people on foot, today we see their role being adapted for a new purpose – defending against terrorist attacks.

Over the past few years, terrible attacks against pedestrians have been witnessed in some of the world’s biggest and most populous cities including Barcelona, Charlottesville, Berlin, London, New York, Nice, Stockholm, and the West Bank. The attacks have seen vehicles being used as weapons and driven into large groups of people causing mass casualties and deaths.

This new form of terrorist attack presents challenges to the security services as they are often unexpected, and can be undertaken without too much advanced planning and preparation. In some cases, the drivers have then gone on to exit vehicles and begin a melee attack on innocent pedestrians who are left standing after the attack, and this continues until emergency services are able to make it to the scene and apprehend the attackers.

To prevent these kinds of attacks, many city planners and organisations are turning to security tools such as bollards to deter vehicular assaults and stop terrorists in their tracks. Iconic landmarks such as London Bridge and York Minster are being fitted with anti-terrorist bollards to provide protection against impact collisions from vehicles, thereby protecting flocks of tourists who visit these landmarks every day.

Here at Gateway we provide a range of equipment which can be used down to halt vehicular attacks including Crash Tested Road Blockers and purpose built Anti-Terrorism Bollards like the XPass B 330/1200, XPass B 275/800 and Ranch D 275/800. To find out more, please call us on 01522 682 255 or click here to arrange a callback.