4Pedestrian safety considerations#

Regardless of the quality the planning and design, it is inevitable that sometimes pedestrians will purposely evade the fencing by climbing over it or walking along the road side of it, thereby potentially increasing their risk of conflict with a vehicle. It is essential, for this reason, that the road environment is as forgiving as possible.

When installed on a footpath, the distance between the traffic lane and the fence should be a minimum of 200 mm. If the fence needs to be installed any further from the traffic lane, the space should not be wide enough to encourage pedestrians to walk between the fence and the traffic lane, but just enough space for a pedestrian to shelter if caught between traffic and the fence. Where pedestrian fencing is to be installed on footpaths, consideration should be given to its potential effects on bus stop locations, on-street parking and the need to maintain adequate footpath width for pedestrians.

Similarly, when installed on a median a clearance of at least 450 mm between a pedestrian fence and a traffic lane is to be maintained. This allows refuge for pedestrians should they be standing next to the fence. Consideration should therefore be given to sight lines, when fencing is to be installed on a

median, especially at intersections where right turning vehicles on the through road may temporarily lose sight of an approaching vehicle.

A pedestrian fence is not a safety barrier and it is not designed to exhibit the characteristics of a safety barrier. If the design intent is to prevent vehicles encroaching into pedestrian operating space in a low speed environment, then vehicle resistant bollards would be recommended. The bollards will be no more than 1.2 metres apart to provide permeability to pedestrians and mobility impaired users. As these vehicle resistant bollards are designed to resist forced attack, they are unlikely to be frangible if accidentally hit.