Street furniture is somewhat of a ‘catch all’ categorisation of HVM products designed for use in all areas where vehicles and pedestrians interact but whereby the product provides an important secondary function such as seating or aesthetics.
Street furniture designed for use in a permanent scenario is available offering a whole range of performance levels depending on the product used and anchoring details. This ranges from product tested at impact speeds from 32kph (20mph) to 80kph (50mph) using vehicles with weights between 1.5t and 7.5t.
Temporary use street furniture such as seating or planters is very popular for one off events as it can be very quickly transported to site and installed as a temporary measure and yet with products successfully impact tested using up to 7.5t vehicles travelling at up to 40mph (64kph).
This product category is particularly suited to locations requiring HVM but where where aesthetics and functionality are also key. Products in this category are often chosen to blend unobtrusively with the surrounding area and are used extensively in towns and cities in pedestrian areas which may be particularly vulnerable to HVM attack. The functionality offered by HVM street furniture includes such things as seating areas, bike racks, litter bins, planters and signage.
Street furniture tends to be a stand- alone solution so would not normally be used as part of an access control solution except possibly as route demarcation. Nevertheless, all products should still be installed by trained installers strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and after a full site risk assessment.
Some of the most common types of independently tested HVM street furniture are listed below.
Seating is a fundamental requirement of any large crowded space as it provides a place for people to gather and rest. A wide range of standard HVM seating from traditional Steel and timber to more modern Concrete monoliths is available, these having required foundation depths that are shallow enough to meet the requirements of installation over existing services. A number of PSSA member companies can also provide expertise in the development of bespoke seating options in both manmade and natural materials. Lower foundation seating can also be considered as a temporary solution. Seating has been tested using 7500kg vehicles impacting at both 48kph and 64 Kph.
Cycle elements incorporated into bollards or as standalone items can be made part of the street scape and help provide a more normalised, non-fortified view of the public space as well as providing a secure location to park your bike. Manufactured in either steel or Stainless steel, cycle parking products are available with proven HVM performance against a range of 7500kg tested vehicles with impact speeds of up to 80 Kph.
Planters provide aesthetic enhancement to public places and can help break up larger spaces and may be an integral part of a projects design. A wide range of materials, both natural and manmade, can be incorporated into planters thereby adding an element of bespoke design whilst at the same time offering HVM performance of halting vehicles up to 7500kg in weight and at impact speeds of up to 80kph.
Standard HVM litter bins for use in public areas are manufactured in stainless steel but bespoke bins can also be manufactured in a wide range of materials that still provide vehicle stopping performance at impact speeds of up to 80 Kph.
Further information on independently tested HVM Street furniture can be found in the searchable product database on this website.