The traffic bollard has been embedded in transport infrastructure since people first saw the need to demarcate areas for safe transit. Sticks, rocks and boulders have been replaced with cast-iron, steel, stainless steel, concrete, polyurethane and plastic structures. Still performing as a visibility aid and a boundary marker, the bollard is also used to reduce traffic speed and has been a go-to staple in the active travel planner’s toolkit. In this context, the bollard is riding a wave of online popularity as accounts such as Twitter’s @WorldBollard use humour to highlight its efficiency and simplicity when protecting people from vehicles and facilitating placemaking.

Here's what’s trending in bollards:-

1 Higher-spec hydraulic bollards

Commonplace on pedestrianised or restricted access streets with limited vehicular access for delivery vehicles and emergency services, the newest versions activate and deactivate in a question of seconds, can be custom-lit with LEDs, cope with wider temperature ranges (e.g. -40 to 70 degrees) and the pumps can handle thousands of duty cycles per day, with a security system that facilitates remote control and remote card reader control as well as unlocking in the event of a power outage. Many councils look to this bollard to provide more robust security from planned vehicle attacks outside public buildings such as city halls, universities and museums.

2 Greener bollards

Hampshire County Council is trialling a new 3.5kg plant-based bollard made from sugar cane. Developed by Milestone Infrastructure, the cane not only absorbs CO2 when growing but is concrete free and is perfect for locations that permit or demand a bollard that weighs less than the typical 70kg. It’s not the only green bollard. Leafield Highways is producing a bollard made from chipped bottles with polymer.

Of course, the greenest bollard is one created entirely by planters, shrubs or trees. And if that maintenance team member gets around on an EV or a cargo bike to champion last-mile logistics, it’s an even greener proposition.

If that seems too much of a leap, what about a bollard with a planter on top? Slovenia’s Radovljica is making ripples this Summer for its picture-perfect bollards complete with open planter section.

3 Bespoke bollards

Whether it’s a scheme of giant pencil-shaped bollards outside a primary school, a stack of oversized books in bronze at Cambridge University library, or a series of lighthouse-shaped bollards by a seafront, bollard customisation is visible in almost every town and city. The current trend is the low-cost community-led customisations for events and festivals. Just search ”Jubilee bollard” on Twitter for a sense of how inventive and creative the artistry is.

4 The bollard with more bark than bite

Plastic bollards with a reflective strip have been the preferred choice for many authorities to demarcate between mobility lanes and roads. Low unit price and quick installation mean they can be installed speedily on designated active travel routes and allow for fine-tuning in consultation with communities - and if clipped by a cyclist, it won’t cause undue harm to the person or the bike.

Although the installation is more expensive and labour intensive, bollards with flex are another cyclist and pedestrian friendly item of street furniture - as the internal spring and polyurethane buffers absorb the shock, when bumped into on a bike. Many local authorities are using these bendy bollards along active travel routes and to protect street furniture such as EV charging points.

5 Bollards that are accessible 

Highway and transportation professionals are more engaged with accessibility representatives and better equipped to identify and resolve accessibility pinch-points than ever before.

Wheelchair user Katie Pennick and campaigns and policy manager for Transport for All says “A-boards, signs, bollards and traffic cones – it really is the same to me as a car parked over the pavement because I’m unable to move it and cannot get through.”

Awareness means selecting a bollard in a colour that contrasts with the surrounding colour scheme to help people with visual impairments to navigate a space safely. And selecting the location and the quantity of bollards so a person in a wheelchair or a person on a cargo bike or pushing a double buggy can make their journey unimpeded.