Many governments are loathe to protect their nations by traditional border defense, so they have instead gone small and fortified city streets against jihad vehicle attacks. As a result, “bollard” is a new vocabulary word in the discussion about public safety when enemy immigrants are common in Europe and beyond.
Last August, the New York Times did a survey of European nations and how they are bollarding up, titled “European Cities Add Barriers to Thwart Vehicle Attacks” (reprinted in the Dubai News). The article is quite revealing about the degree to which communities are building structures to prevent mass murder: apparently modern leaders are now too sensitive to admit that the world is full of enemies, and it would be wise to keep those tribes out entirely.
Below, some diversity bollards are square, which makes artistic comments easier to express.
A vehicle attack in Toronto last week killed 10 pedestrians, so the Canadian media reported on the bollard industry.
How cities are being redesigned to protect pedestrians from vehicles, CBC News, April 26, 2018
Businesses and architects respond to call for better protection for pedestrians
Brad Done watched carefully as a machinist drilled a hole into a bright yellow metal tube about a metre long and 10 centimetres across at his Surrey, B.C., business, Reliance Foundry.
The pole is called a bollard, designed to be set into the ground to keep vehicles away from people and buildings.
The demand for this product is so strong it’s become the main focus of his business, which once forged metal into tools and other products for B.C. industries.
“The bollard business for us is thriving, it’s now our No. 1 sales product.”
Some bollards are just ugly metal tubes filled with concrete, Done said.
Increasingly, though, designers are looking for decorative barriers made from cast iron or stainless steel. Some serve double duty as bicycle racks.
It’s this market that Reliance is homing in on. Bollards with decorative metal covers help disguise the beefy metal and concrete barriers beneath.
“We ship product into every state in the U.S. and every province and territory in Canada,” he said on a tour of his warehouse.
