Bollards get zero respect. These objects of industrial street art seem to suffer from neglect. People disregard them and their cheap plastic appearance. So like one of those old Beatles songs, I told you about bollards, man, and their many variations in a past post. If you’ve been listening you’ll understand why I believe bollards should continue to stand tall and receive the honor they deserve for their willingness to be a part of the traffic landscape.

Some bollards are easier to run over than others. Mostly, like that old Bozo the Clown punching bag toy, they get knocked down and bounce back up. There are bollards that remain down for the count. I spotted two bollards tossed aside in the gutter, looking like drunken sailors, exhausted and feeble, unable to crawl back to their bolt pad. They lay prey to any enterprising juvenile to pick up for jousting or for use as a baseball bat in a game of what we use to call “apple strudel,” essentially bashing rotting apples with whatever implements are available. 

Bollards fend for their lives while bolted to the road. It’s too easy for them to be torn off their foundations. I worry about this. Recent road work in SW Portland on 35th Avenue involved adding lane stripes, improved bike lanes and rows of bollards. It may suffer from a lack of upkeep. I told you about how the world is in a constant state of disintegration, man. Can we keep up with a little upkeep? 

We heard an earful from a neighbor who needed to spout off about the road improvements because she just couldn’t handle any attention to bike riders, bike traffic and the impact it had on the area surrounding her driveway. It seemed hopeful, to me, to see spray paint in some kind of chart form or traffic engineer diagram that has me anticipating more improvements. It may even be some part of the next phase of the project. I’ll be watching and reporting should anything result from these official street hieroglyphics. 

I’m never sure how I bonded with bollards. I spent too much time staring at a PBOT poster on a street corner when I was a Safety Patrol Coordinator, I guess. Some bollards are more beautiful than others. Some aren’t given the pinched, plastic toppers the plastic variety are usually issued. The hollow tubes are more rain gauge than bollard. Don’t get me started on the tattered reflective tape applied to the top of the white variety. Bollards deserve better. The question remains, are bollards a blight or necessary for improved traffic flow to separate cars from bikes? I believe bollards make the world a better place. I will battle for them and ask you, reader, to keep them safe. Just because they usually bounce back up after you run them over that shouldn’t mean you should run them over.