Installing pedestrian guardrails along sidewalks that run parallel to busy streets is a useful way to reducing injuries and deaths resulting from car accidents. Various types of pedestrian rail guards are available, which are designed to suit a range of purposes. Due to variations in their design, some pedestrian guard rails are considered safer and more effective than others.
Basic Guard Rail
A basic pedestrian guard rail is composed of between two and four horizontal bars running parallel to one another, with vertical poles connecting them together. They typically serve to prevent pedestrians from stumbling or falling onto the street into the paths of speeding cars. They also serve to provide some obstruction of out-of-control cars that come onto the sidewalk. In addition to providing safety, pedestrian guard rails can also be decorative and quite aesthetically pleasing.
Pole Spacing
One important issue to consider when installing a pedestrian guard rail is how far apart the vertical poles are placed. If a pedestrian guard rail has vertical poles that are too close together, the angles at which individuals can see through the barrier become severely reduced. If this occurs, cars and pedestrians may be unable to see each other through the barrier, making it less likely a driver of an out-of-control car can avoid pedestrians. Concerns over the strength of the barrier should be balanced against concerns over visibility.
Replacements
Some pedestrian guard rails are designed in such a way that, if one part of the fence needs to be replaced, a whole section of the fence needs to be removed for repair. Other pedestrian guard rails are built using a separate post construction approach with hidden spigot joints on the top rail. This allows vertical poles to be removed one by one. This way, individual posts can be removed, repaired and replaced with minimal effect on the overall integrity of the fence. This provides a much safer means of repairing pedestrian guard rails.
Standards
The types of pedestrian guard rails available are often restricted by internationally-recognized voluntary consensus standards, such as those developed and produced by the British Standards Institution (BSI). BSI standards governing specifications for pedestrian guard rails, such as BS 7818: 1995, are available for purchase on the BSI web site.
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