Cycling UK Forum

What is the purpose of this bollard? What does it stop getting onto the path?

Ian

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

Exactly.

Psamathe wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:59am What is the purpose of this bollard? What does it stop getting onto the path?

Ian

Cars. You can pretty much guarantee that at some point that road is going to be blocked and some idiot will take it upon themselves to bump over the kerb and drive along the cycle path, closely followed by everyone else in the queue once they realise what's happening. It's a sad fact that in this country in particular but also in general, if you want to stop cars going somewhere, it needs a forest of bollards and barriers.

Which of course brings its own issues with access (especially for non-standard cycles such as recumbents, cargo bikes etc), collision danger, visual intrusion....
I've seen all sorts of stuff over the years from small bollards like that (which ironically present more of a challenge cos they're in the middle of an otherwise open path and not well lit) to huge piles of intricately tangled metal that would stop a tank. It seems in this country that no sooner has a cycle path been designed than a host of measures to stop anyone other than olympic gymnasts from actually getting onto it are installed.

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

My reaction is to navigate around them.

Paulatic wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 10:21am

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

My reaction is to navigate around them.
IMG_2222.jpeg

That's what we call "best practice", though some don't manage it.

Paulatic wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 10:21am

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

My reaction is to navigate around them.
IMG_2222.jpeg

Would you say that is exactly equivalent to the cycle-path example?

rareposter wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 10:17am

Psamathe wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:59am What is the purpose of this bollard? What does it stop getting onto the path?

Ian

Cars. You can pretty much guarantee that at some point that road is going to be blocked and some idiot will take it upon themselves to bump over the kerb and drive along the cycle path, closely followed by everyone else in the queue once they realise what's happening. It's a sad fact that in this country in particular but also in general, if you want to stop cars going somewhere, it needs a forest of bollards and barriers.

Won't motorists just drive their cars over the kerb in the background of the photo? There doesn't appear to be any posts or fence to stop them.

pwa wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 11:04am

Paulatic wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 10:21am

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

My reaction is to navigate around them.
IMG_2222.jpeg

That's what we call "best practice", though some don't manage it.

Yeah, we don't need to guess what the reaction would be: we've seen the debris after the motorists have driven into the central bollard, which is usually a sight more reflective than dull wood!

In the attached photo from today's ride, a motorist has destroyed a fence protecting a toucan crossing punishment waiting area as well as one of the corner bollards.

Cyclists should take a leaf out of motorists' book and destroy those ill-placed obstacles until they get redesigned, same as happens with most stuff motorists destroy often enough.

Prompted by this thread, and MJR I particular, I became “bollard critical” today when I popped out on an errand.

The more I look, the more I’m mystified by some of the ones that I’ve simply navigated round and not thought about before, most particularly, on the approach to bridges.

Several small bridges over streams and rivers on my trip, and they’ve all got at least one bollard bang in the middle of the path at the entry and exit to the bridge. Why? The more I think about it, the less I can see what purpose the serve; it’s quite bizarre. Worst still, one recently re-decked bridge now has the stupid little, half-invisible ones as per the OP, rather than nice, big, yellow ones, which at least are prominent.

mattheus wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 11:48am

Paulatic wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 10:21am

roubaixtuesday wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 9:53am If unsure whether this is s problem or not, consider what the reaction would be if similar were installed in the middle of a road.

My reaction is to navigate around them.
IMG_2222.jpeg

Would you say that is exactly equivalent to the cycle-path example?

Proportionally for the vehicles size and speed intended there must be similarities. The driver and the cyclist need to be alert to see them.
The glaring difference is cyclists deal with a solid immovable object while the driver might only damage a rim and break some yellow plastic sitting over a light bulb.

There are lots of obstructions to watch out for on cycle routes. Many of them are small or narrow or dark; vegetation, debris, litter, people, dogs. The fact that this bollard wasn’t ‘high viz’ doesn’t make it dangerous.

peetee wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 2:56pm There are lots of obstructions to watch out for on cycle routes. Many of them are dark; vegetation, debris, litter, people, dogs. The fact that this bollard wasn’t ‘high viz’ doesn’t make it dangerous.

Correct.

The fact that someone might ride into it and hurt themselves makes it dangerous. We have evidence this has already happened, at least once.

(Are you aware of Health and Safety laws peetee? Had any training? )

It makes it more dangerous than it needs to be, or, to use health and safety at work act language, the design doesn’t reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable, quite the converse.

If a bollard is needed at all, it would cost no more to make it one that is nice and prominent, thereby reducing risk at no cost at all.

Which makes me wonder whether a legal case, or at least a civil compensation case after an accident, could be made against an authority that installs daft bollards. I think it possibly could.

peetee wrote: ↑6 Jun 2023, 2:56pm There are lots of obstructions to watch out for on cycle routes. Many of them are small or narrow or dark; vegetation, debris, litter, people, dogs. The fact that this bollard wasn’t ‘high viz’ doesn’t make it dangerous.

Honestly, I find it absolutely amazing this is even a point of debate.

Putting obstructions in a cycle lane is surely, obviously a bad idea.

BTW my 80yo mother cycled into similar and fell off a couple of years ago.

cycle tramp wrote: ↑5 Jun 2023, 10:34pm
...however I still can't help thinking, why wasn't it spotted and just avoided...

I've worked with people like this.

"What I don't understand is ... "

They struggle to comprehend the world around them generally, let alone the viewpoints of other people!