Sheffield City Council has become the first local authority in the country to improve road safety by fitting a new generation pedestrian guardrail capable of stopping vehicles from mounting the pavement.
The authority has just finished installing 14m of the safety fencing close to a pedestrian crossing on the side of a busy dual carriageway and close to a roundabout to the south of the city.
The new guardrail, which was developed by UK hostile vehicle mitigation device manufacturers Securiscape, is the only one of its kind in the UK to be able to stand up to a collision with a vehicle.
Standard pedestrian guardrails are not strong enough to withstand collisions because they are designed only to act as a device to prevent people from crossing the road at anywhere other than designated points.
Securiscape’s product, which can stop a 2.5 tonne pick-up truck travelling at 30mph, is therefore an upgrade because it has a dual function, adding an extra layer of security on Britain’s increasingly busy roads.
The guardrail has been installed in Bochum Parkway, close to where the road meets the A61 Chesterfield Road, and Mark Stone, managing director of Securiscape said that seeing the guardrail in place was a proud moment.
He said: “Our guardrails may look like every other length of pedestrian guardrail across the UK, but the similarities end there, because of the extra protection that they can offer.
“All of our products are designed in conjunction with national security experts to prevent deliberate vehicle-borne attacks on buildings and people and our pedestrian guardrail was originally developed with that in mind.
“However, it is equally capable of preventing accidents and we are very proud to see it being used to improve the safety of pedestrians in Sheffield.”
Based in Derbyshire, Securiscape has designed, manufactured and installed a wide range of outdoor security products designed to save lives and protect property from hostile attacks.
They include reinforced bollards and street furniture, blast-resistant litter bins and its ingenious IWA-14 rated SecuriPods, a temporary defence which can be installed in minutes to protect pedestrians attending outdoor events.
