Talking Bollards...?

Is this a talking Bollard of Kensington & Chelsea ?

Who knows but I thought it looked funny whilst sitting on the rank at Sloane Square the other evening. However I must say we shall be searching for talking bollards for they do exist in dark deep parts of the City of Westminster.

Who would have thought so much work would go into bits of street furniture...

Painting of the Bollards...

Here at the junction of Farringdon & Stonecutter Street EC4 I found a line of newly planted City of London Corporation bollards some having recently been freshly painted others looking reading to receive the final top coat of black gloss paint.

The bollards in the picture are yet another derivative of the traditional bollard you find in the City of London for these do not have the crest nor a date stamp but carrying the normal livery and style of bollard we tend to find elsewhere. Up until recently ugly concrete blocks lay at this junction so you could argue that this is an improvement however wouldn't it be easier to plant a couple of nice trees rather than these objects.

I often wonder what it must be like to be the person whose paints these bollards for they do an excellent job and it does seem a waste of this rather skill...

Pointless Bollards...

Yes these two bollards which are within Hyde Park corner must be two of the most pointless bollards you'll ever find in London.

Why would I say that, well other than casting a rather long shadow on a sunny summers evening they would not stop anyone driving up the tarmac path because you would just drive around them. For either side you find a very small kerb with grass the other side.

Now this design is nothing to extravagant in fact they are quiet boring, gloss black in colour and a slight mushroom head effect at the top with a couple of ribbed edges on the upper half of body.

So these are two bollards that could well do with a relocation package or be sent to a more deserving borough...

Infomation, Bollards with Information...

The London borough of Islington places bollards like many other borough's all over the place. Could it be they have a job lot sitting in a goods yard somewhere or could it be they just love planting metal objects rather than trees?

Here though is an information bollard, a bollard that carries a message or visual sign and here this bollard protects the two way cycle lane from motorists using the this piece of road but also informs the cycling fraternity they have lanes that they can use if they choose and not put the fear of god into pedestrians or risk life and limb battling through London traffic.

Must say not a very good job planting this one look at the uneven tarmac surrounding the base...

Beverley Bollard...

Well it seems it is not just London that has a craze for bollards. I was enjoying a cup of tea at a local cafe and I decided to glimpse through the Daily Mail (12th of August edition) and what do I come across on page 33 but a story about the "Beverley Bollard" yes three foot high bollards made to look like children.

It seems councils across the UK certainly do have money to spend on pet projects that do very little to improve road safety. You see if these councils didn't spend all this money on street furniture we would probably have enough money to spend on real Police Officers who would do a much better job at deterring people from speeding whilst also deterring others from committing more serious of crimes.

Who would have thought it possible that the bollard capital of Europe was nearly trumped by Leicester...

Forget the Bear here is the Bollard...

Here we are in the confines of Paddington Station and instead of finding a jar of marmalade and the cute cuddly Paddington Bear we find Paddington Bollards instead.

With a rather dull looking blue coloured body and a round yellow top we have a very odd looking bollard. But then again railways have always been about trains and thank god they don't spend too much time designing these most pointless of objects.

You'll find these bollards about 100 yards in front of the taxi rank in fact right by the Police parking bay. Now lets go and look for that Bear...

Linked to the Last Post...

Yes this Royal Bollard in Regent's Park is certainly linked to the last post but also linked via a chain to the lamp post you can see in the picture.

What you may notice is the lamp post lower half is exactly like the bollard except a post is attached with a lamp. The chain is I suppose decorative but it really does highlight how much we like to create barriers in society which in turn leads to division.

Royal bollards linked to Royal lamp posts what more could one want in a Royal Park...

Royal Bollards with Integral Lamps...

Have a walk around the outer circle of Regent's Park and you'll notice all the terracing and the set back drives for those people and businesses who are lucky enough to live and work in the most beautiful place in the capital.

Who would have thought though that we would not only find Royal Bollards within the park but they would come with an integral lamp half way up the body. If you take a close look at the picture you will notice the lamp just under the Elizabeth the Second reigns marking along with the crown.

Now these bollards with the white light mark an entrance to a drive way if you come across bollards with a red light that would indicate exit only. The bollards here though are lightly ribbed and are of a solid steel construction, notice how they taper towards a flatter top. Eight sides in all and they do add to the decorative effect of this most beautiful of parks...

Dual Purpose Traffic Bollard of SW10...

Here we have a rectangular shaped traffic bollard with square ends. This model/type were popular with local councils until the last couple of years and the development of the reflective flat bendy bollard which just looks awful and really does drag the tone of an area down.

This particular bollard is rare for it has too messages depending on direction of travel. On the front we see the standard blue circle with a white arrow asking all road users to keep left for we are actually at a give way. However on the left hand side we see the red circle with a with circular border and a white horizontal bar that informs all road users this is a no entry. The dots that appear around the traffic information signs are actually reflectors.

The bollard is made of plastic and a light is placed underneath and therefore this type of bollard is lit upwards. Easy to clean and very easy to maintain but it has been known that the odd person loves to remove these for some unknown reason other than boredom and the consumption of too much alcohol.

Casting a Shadow on Pimlico...

It really is odd to find bollards of this type here in Pimlico right near the site of the Tate Gallery. These particular bollards look like they would be more suited to a dockside for they are dumpy and have a grove that would easily accommodate a rather large rope to secure a ship up to a jetty.

Well right here in the heart of SW1 was Millbank Prison (on the site of the Tate Britain Gallery) where people were sent before they were transferred by ship to a former Crown Colony called Australia. Transportation was a punishment back in the early 19th century and many didn't survive the journey. It really is odd how we walk on pavements and roads not really knowing what went before us.

Back to the bollards though, hopefully you will notice they are placed on the pavement next to cobbled stones and a raised piece of road so pedestrians can walk across the junction without having to step off a kerb. I'll say this again have any of these councillors ever thought what it must be like to be blind or partially sighted trying to negotiate all this street furniture ?