Bollard

[5] In the maritime contexts in which the term originates, a bollard is either a wooden or iron post found as a deck-fitting on a ship or boat, and used to secure ropes for towing, mooring and other purposes; or its counterpart on land, a short wooden, iron, or stone post on a quayside to which craft can be moored.

The Sailor's Word-Book of 1867 defines a bollard in a more specific context as "a thick piece of wood on the head of a whale-boat, round which the harpooner gives the line a turn, in order to veer it steadily, and check the animal's velocity".

Israel's Transportation Research Institute found that putting bollards at highway exits to control traffic also reduced accidents.

[10] They may be mounted near enough to each other that they block ordinary cars/trucks, for instance, but spaced widely enough to permit special-purpose vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians to pass through.

In addition, most new modern traffic bollards installed along UK roadways today are made of materials that make them completely collapsible.

When struck by a vehicle at low or high speed, the traffic bollard shell reverts to its original position with minimal or no damage to the unit.

[citation needed] Manually retractable bollards (lowered by a key mechanism) are found useful in some cases because they require less infrastructure.

When struck, flexible bollards give way to some extent, reducing damage to vehicles and surrounding surfaces, and return to their original, upright position.

Other flexible bollards have been designed to provide physical protection as well as reduced damage by incorporating strong elastic materials.

[33][34] In Geelong, Victoria, Australia, decorative bollards, sculpted and painted by Jan Mitchell, are placed around the city to enhance the landscape as a form of outdoor public sculpture.

Usually they are made of timber, minimally modified from the traditionally cylindrical, wooden, maritime bollard shape, but brightly painted to resemble human figures.

Decorative bollards have become a well-known feature of the city of Geelong and reflect its history as a major Australian port.

[38] On the forecourt of Cambridge University Library, England, a line of 14 bronze bollards made to resemble piles of books was installed in 2009.

Mooring bollards, such as this one in the Hudson River , were the first type of bollard. The use of the term has since expanded.
East India House , Leadenhall Street , London: an engraving of 1766. Six bollards stand in front of the building.
The Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, painted by Canaletto in 1742. Five bollards stand beyond the arch, apparently placed to protect it from vehicle damage.
Merwede-Canal, Utrecht , Netherlands features bollards made from cannons .
A London street bollard in The City
Bollards can be temporary and portable, such as this traffic control bollard separating the road from the worksite.
1980s traffic bollard in Prague, Czechia
Internally illuminated traffic bollards direct vehicles to the appropriate side of an island in the United Kingdom.
A bell bollard is especially useful to deflect heavy vehicles.
Security bollard in front of a shop doorway, placed to prevent ram-raids
Concrete planters provide protection similar to that of bollards. Washington, DC
Figural bollard sculptures in Geelong, Victoria
Ex libris bollard outside Cambridge University Library , by Harry Gray