Flexible Parking Bollards: Frequently Asked Questions & Safety Guidelines

Yes. FlexBollard with a Handicap symbol are legal to use. Section 502.6 of the 2010 ADA Standards (3) requires parking space identification signs at accessible parking spaces. This signage is quite often supported by just steel posts, which provide little resistance to vehicle impact. Installing ADA bollards safeguard the required ADA signposts at well-designed parking spaces.

Flexible parking bollards can be used to mark parking spaces, direct traffic, and as lane delineators. Use these bollards as a physical barrier between road and curb and provide visual cues to drivers that the curb is near, ensuring pedestrians’ and vehicular safety. Our customers also use these products to prevent vehicles from crashing into buildings, storefronts, and other sensitive installations. Flexible bollards block access from places where you don’t want vehicular traffic like sidewalks, cycling paths, trails, and other pedestrian routes.They also separate entry and exit lanes, restricting the chances of cars entering the wrong lanes.

In parking lots, FlexBollards serve as a security structure and as a visual deterrent. A FlexBollard at the end of a parking stall is a visual stop marker that will neither get damaged nor damage the vehicle that hits it. FlexBollards eliminate replacement costs for bent and disfigured posts and bollards, and reduce maintenance fees and damage to parking lot surfaces. In parking garages and on ramps with tight turns, flexible bollards act as an incredible traffic separator, keeping most drivers in their lanes or paths. Bollards direct the flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, guiding people towards their intended destination and keeping them away from areas where they are not permitted like ticket machines and camera posts. Parking bollards are also used to mark or restrict entrances and exits in public lots. They have made major improvements in marking accessible parking areas as well.

Some building and fire codes may have certain requirements to ensure bollards are installed correctly and safely. For example, you may require permits for bollards or there could be any depth recommendation for digging a bollard. By law, bollard spacing must be such that it allows emergency vehicles to pass. ADA requires accessible parking space to be marked and identified with a sign. ADA bollards help you meet this criteria and unlike steel posts, cannot collapse and lead to pedestrian injuries by being a trip and fall hazard. Consult with your site planners and local authorities to find out which codes and ordinances are applicable for bollard installation. If done incorrectly, there are chances of your bollards getting removed.

Spacing between bollards can be different depending on where they are installed. To prevent cars from driving between them, do not exceed the spacing more than 5 feet. Bollard spacing can differ for storefronts, campuses, sidewalks, loading docks, around utilities, landmarks and plantings. The distance between bollards should be between 3 feet - 5 feet, enough to allow for pedestrian traffic and wheelchair access (to comply with ADA), but not enough for a vehicle to pass through. Sometimes, bollard spacing depends on traffic flow in the area. If traffic is aggressive, bollards would be placed in close proximity. However, check with local codes and ordinances for correct placement and spacing requirements when planning bollard installations.

Emergency vehicles need to speedily pass through a congested space or enter a restricted area where other vehicles cannot enter, in order to reach their destination as soon as possible. FlexBollards are particularly helpful for emergency vehicles like police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, tow trucks, etc. as they can quickly pass over FlexBollards without any damage to the vehicle or the bollard. A hard bollard, on the other hand, will cause unnecessary damage to the emergency vehicle