Safe Shopping: Shopping Center Bollard Advantages

Spring is coming, and with the thaw from this particularly nasty winter, stores and retail outlets across the country are pulling themselves from the doldrums and awaiting the rush brought on by warm weather. If you frequent shopping malls or large plazas, you have probably run into some kind of security or traffic-related hazards. Hiring security guards is an expensive, often ineffective way of funneling traffic and reducing pedestrian congestion. Enter the low cost security solution: safety bollards.

How Bollards Protect Stores and You

Parking lots can be dangerous places. Drivers and pedestrians alike are typically less aware of their surroundings than they would be on an open road. Fixed bollards help give pedestrians a permanent safe passage from the lot to stores, and give clear direction to vehicles entering and exiting the premises. Since high speeds are difficult to achieve in parking lots, even a stray vehicle at risk of ramping onto a sidewalk could be prevented by a short row of bollards. Removable bollards are great for hosting festivals, events and parades in shopping areas where traffic swells to unmanageable levels. Bollards offer site protection, mitigate traffic overflow, and help ward off criminal activity. Event bollards can be coated in bright colors, or decorated in some other festival-related fashion, to stand out so drivers and walkers will notice them. Collapsible bollards often contain locking features to help prevent property damage or a vehicle from uprooting the barrier. Shopping centers are inundated with stores, cafes and other services. These areas also contain stores with valuables, like jewelry and electronics. Criminals have been known to steal a larger vehicle, like a truck or SUV, and use it to speed into the side of these buildings, in an activity known as ram-raiding. Steel bollards around the perimeter of the building can help protect the store’s contents and pedestrians walking by. Don’t rely on standard safety features to get around. For more information on how you can use bollards to help protect shopping centers and other high-traffic areas, contact TrafficGuard today. To see additional benefits that bollards can provide, check out our Facebook and Twitter pages.