Types of car park barriers

Car park barriers perform many functions. They slow vehicles down at the point of entry, control who can enter and exit, and often they are essential for demarcation – showing clearly where the entrance is. Car park barriers can be used in addition to, or as an alternative to gates, enabling an easier flow of vehicle access, and saving space.

In some instances, car park barriers will need to be configured with ticket, security pass and payment systems, and often the site will have specific opening hours or restricted hours for vehicles entering, but still need to allow pedestrians to pass.

There are two types of car park barriers which we explore below: Manual and automated. A key benefit of all of our barriers, is that they come with a 25 year guarantee, offering a low lifetime cost. Additionally, automated barriers have a 25 month automation guarantee.

Manual car park barriers

Manual barriers are easy to install and maintain, and there are many options to choose from.

Manual warden swing barriers

Where you need some flexibility regarding access, manual warden swing barriers are a practical and cost-effective solution.

At Jacksons, our manual swing barriers or ‘warden barriers’ are constructed from 60 x 60mm Square Hollow Section (SHS) steel, with tamper-proof hinges. The barriers can be padlocked in the open or closed position.

Max height barrier

You’ll need a max height barrier, or height restriction barrier, to stop unsuitable vehicles gaining access to your road or car park. If you want to exclude larger lorries and camper vans coming onto the property, these metal posts with strong horizontal bars will do the trick.

Our MaxHite height restriction barrier is designed to suit any width and height requirement and is supplied galvanised as standard, or powder coated as an optional extra. The barrier can be locked in the open and closed positions.

Security bollards and parking posts

Bollards can also be used for access control around properties and grounds. Security bollards are typically used for separating vehicles and pedestrians, or for hostile vehicle mitigation. Jacksons offers many types, including automatic bollards, static, stainless steel, and timber bollards, suitable for driveways through to high security applications with anti-ram designs. Collapsible parking posts are also a consideration, providing flexibility over access once installed.

Rail protection barrier

Rail protection barriers are essentially crash barriers, designed to prevent vehicles getting close enough to buildings to cause damage. These are popular in car parks where large vehicles might be reversing in close proximity to walls, or where heavy use of a car park can generally cause wear and tear to buildings. These need to be very strong. Our barriers are made from durable hot dip galvanised steel 100 x 100mm RHS.

Car bars

In some car park locations, it’s helpful to have ‘post and rail’ surrounds, otherwise known as car bars, rather than solid fences and walls, as these can block visibility. Our car bars provide a handy security solution for keeping car showrooms organised and secure, without blocking access for customers viewing vehicles. Our metal car bar has been specifically designed as a parking and traffic control barrier, offering security and convenience.

Fixed hoop barrier

Another manual parking control, our fixed hoop security barriers are a simple way to secure large perimeters allowing pedestrian access, but making vehicular access impossible. They are popular on car forecourts but can also be used around sports grounds and to restrict access in certain areas of a country park or leisure facility. Installed in individual sections, they allow great flexibility and control over car park design and spacing between each barrier.

Automatic car park barriers

Traffic access control can be automated for convenience, in which case access control devices are needed alongside physical car park barriers to complete the application. Jacksons has a wide range of automated barriers to choose from, and vast experience in this area of security management.

Rising arm barrier

If you require an automated rising arm barrier, hawse have a complete range. It’s a case of matching the size to your specific site and being aware of how many operations per hour and per day you’ll require. We can supply traffic and car park barriers with boom lengths of up to 12.0m in medium duty.

We also stock heavy duty versions to cover a multitude of traffic control applications and offer a PAS 68 Arm barrier. For restricted headroom applications, we can supply articulated arms.

Automated bollards

Automatic rising bollards, sometimes known as hydraulic bollards, provide fantastic security for vehicles with the added benefit that they can be retracted, when no barrier is needed. This means the aesthetics of the site can be protected, which is why these are popular at historic sites or locations where views of the landscape are valued, for instance.

Automatic rising bollards can be activated by any access control system or remote control, and are an alternative solution to static bollards. They provide an ideal way to build flexibility into your car park security measures. The Beaufort automatic bollard has fully integrated hydraulic technology and can handle heavy usage, making it popular for both private residences and busy commercial properties.

Retractable, concealed bollards are ideal for regulation of traffic into certain zones with high vehicle flow such as restricted areas, pedestrian areas, parking, and industrial sites. Long lasting and reliable, these automatic bollards are manufactured to high standards. They’re available with a diameter of 275mm, and a height of 600mm or 800mm.

Road blockers

Another consideration is in-ground road blockers. These are designed for heavy duty use in car parks and entrances to provide additional security in conjunction with gates, traffic barriers or as a high security barrier. These can be installed with voice or video intercom access, or can be configured to work with access keypads, proximity cards or remote control fobs.

All our road blockers are tested to the highest standards and each variation and style is specifically designed to protect premises from moving vehicles and would be intruders.

For guidance on any of our car park barriers or any other products, contact us today.