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Guard rails, amenity and low railings
Parking on the footway can cause inconvenience to pedestrians and is a hazard
for visually impaired, disabled, and elderly people, or those with prams or
pushchairs. It can be prohibited by traffic regulation orders but enforcement
is often a problem and self-enforcing measures become necessary, including bollards,
guard-rails, planters and high kerbs.
Each has a role in protecting pedestrians and those with mobility impairments,
but if used incorrectly or without proper thought they can in themselves form
a hazard.
Bollards are often used to prevent vehicles from parking on the footway or
from entering prohibited areas. They are particularly useful at junctions where
the carriageway has been raised to the same level as the footway, such as at
speed platforms and humps. If spaced at no greater than 1500mm they can prevent
vehicles from mounting the footway and at the same time demarcate the edge of
the footway. The spacing may need to
be greater where pedestrians are intended to cross or meet the regulatory requirements
of controlled pedestrian crossings.
Bollards can, however, be an obstruction. Where it becomes necessary to locate
them within a footway or a pedestrian area they should be at least 1000mm high,
waist height rather than knee height, to avoid causing someone to trip. They
should contrast with the background, or incorporate tops or banding in a contrasting
or reflective colour to assist the partially sighted.
Bollards should also be located back 600mm or more, depending on the vehicle,
from the kerb face to allow vehicles to turn in the road or bus bay.
Standard guard railings can be used to prevent parking on the footway. However,
they limit places where pedestrians can cross a road or where people from parked
cars can gain access to the footway. It can be particularly useful, however,
if for safety reasons the aim is to channel pedestrians to specific crossing
points.
Open-top guard rails, which are less likely to mask a wheelchair user or children
from the view of drivers, should be used as standard. To assist cane users,
guard rails should include a bottom rail no higher than 300mm above the ground.
Amenity railings usually consist of an open railing constructed from a continuous
steel tubing formed into a unit 1500mm to 2500mm long and approximately 1000mm
high. When used to prevent pavement parking they can be spaced to leave gaps
of 1500mm between to allow pedestrian movement.
Cane users find this type of rail difficult to detect. Therefore, if possible,
amenity railings with a bottom rail should be specified or a tactile warning
provided. To assist partially sighted pedestrians, colour contrasting or banding
should be used.
Low railings generally consist of posts up to 900mm high with a single low
rail between. Gaps can again be left at appropriate intervals. They are, however,
a danger to visually impaired people as they are not easily detected and the
rail tends to be at knee height or below. This type of railing should therefore
only be used with a detectable change in surface treatment, ideally grass or
landscaping, or change in level, as a warning.
High kerbs are usually only an option to prevent pavement parking if a new
scheme or a major reconstruction is proposed. They can take the form of a double
kerb with the higher kerb set back or a single high safety kerb such as the
Trief Kerb which is designed to deflect vehicles from over-riding the footway.
Where high kerbs are installed it is both difficult and dangerous to cross
the road. Pedestrian crossing points with facilities for disabled people must
therefore be provided as part of any scheme using high kerbs.
If a footway is wide enough, raised planters or landscaped beds can be effective
in preventing pavement parking. The height to which they are raised can vary
from 125mm, a standard kerb height, to 750mm for a brick constructed planter.
Care must be taken with the design of the planters or beds and the selection
of plants to avoid causing hazards for visually impaired people, and to avoid
making it difficult for pedestrians to see or be seen.
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