What's a bollard?

[+Harry Dolphin]

NJ0452

 

Figured that since I'm from NJ, an NJ benchmark would be fun. But, what's a bollard??? Not in my dictionary.

[+NorthWes]

"Bollard" - pipe set on end (usually in concrete) to protect gas meter, building corners, fire hydrants etc. One of those parking lot obstacles often found covered by a bright yellow plastic cover, to help you see it better just before you back into it. They range in diameter from 4-6" commonly, and are occasionally seen in massive sizes up to 12" in diameter. Body shops love 'em!

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

"Bollard" - pipe set on end (usually in concrete) to protect gas meter, building corners, fire hydrants etc. One of those parking lot obstacles often found covered by a bright yellow plastic cover, to help you see it better just before you back into it. They range in diameter from 4-6" commonly, and are occasionally seen in massive sizes up to 12" in diameter. Body shops love 'em!

 

I am awed, you are a wealth of information!

 

Shirley~

[+LSUFan]

Cool. I never knew that's what they were called. Sure needed some in front of my shop a few years ago when that kid hopped over the curb (which he blew his tires out on), and ran up into it.

 

When the cops caught him on down the road (yes, he backed out and ran off)with his flat tires, he told them he didn't realize he had ran up into the building. He then tried to spin it to his parents insurance company that it was my fault for not having the curbs set far enough back to keep him from going into the building.

 

Maybe if I had some bollards set, it could have saved this kid a lot of lying.

[+Student Camper]

Bollard; (1) A thick low post, usually of iron or steel, mounted on a wharf or dock, to which mooring lines from vessels are attached.

 

(2) One of a series of short posts for excluding motor vehicles from a road.(or keeping them on the road and out of the gas meters).

 

source, Random House Webster's College Dictionary

The quotes are mine.

Edited June 11, 2011 by student camper

[TillaMurphs]

We found a mark where a bollard was used in one of the calls.

 

It can be seen at the top right in this photo. This bollard is used to tie off ships on the Portland waterfront.

 

(It is probably in use right now. Portland's Rose Festival is in full swing and one of the traditions is having navy ships tie up at the waterfront so sailors can have a little R&R in town and so that the locals can see the ships.)

 

Edit - found another photo (not ours) that better shows the bollard:

 

 

(Shouldn't a dolphin know what bollard is - being all nautical and such?)

Edited June 11, 2011 by TillaMurphs

[+DragonsWest]

This is what comes to mind, though I guess they do come in smaller sizes. It's 5.5 to 6 ft tall and I visited this one on Spring Break (between visits to Duval Street, ahh to have been geocaching or benchmark hunting back then!)

[ArtMan]

I worked for many years in DC, where in the last decade (read: after Sept 11, 2001), government buildings have been surrounded by sundry massive objects — jersey highway barriers, concrete planters, bollards — designed to prevent vehicles from being driven into buildings with unpleasant results.

 

The consequence of all this is that Washington is possibly safer, but also a good bit uglier than it was a decade ago.

 

The bollards in general have decorative cladding to provide an aesthetic veneer to what would otherwise be a brutalist, utilitarian contribution to the streetscape. But even a relatively attractive row of bollards is a reminder of how ubiquitous security (and, too often, "security") has become in the last 10 years.

 

ArtMan