Of course not! But if you have wheel stops on your property, especially near pedestrian access routes, you are overlooking a common and potentially expensive hazard. These units can set the stage for personal injury claims, vehicle damage, litigation, and/or out-of-pocket settlements. In addition to the trip hazard and vehicle damage they can cause, the concrete models don’t last very long. They are frequently damaged or ripped off by snowplows. You stand to lose money any way you look at the situation. For the last 30 years there has been a movement away from the use of curb stops for the reasons noted above.

Here are some ways to avoid the use of curb stops and improve user safety.

• Install raised sidewalks. Pedestrian sidewalks, especially adjacent to buildings, are a much better design solution than wheel stops. Wheel stops, even if painted, tend to fade to the same color as the pavement. People have to walk in a narrow space between them and often trip on them. To anyone paying for a trip-and-fall liability, sidewalks are cheap by comparison. Protect your financial interests by providing a raised sidewalk on which your customers can safely walk.
• Size your sidewalks appropriately. Installing wider sidewalks would have been a much better design than using curb stops, as shown on page 1, to prevent vehicle encroachment into pedestrian areas. Now the owner has a site hazard, snowplowing problem, and debris catchment area to deal with.
• Retrofit your site. Bollards or guide rail can be used in lieu of curb stops. Bollards should be 3-1/2’ high and spaced approximately 4-1/2’ on center. These alleviate the trip and fall hazard but still protect pedestrian walkways and your building from damage. Guide rail is not recommended along the front of the building because it forms an access barrier. It can, however, provide an acceptable substitute for curb stops, particularly at side and rear lot lines where there are no pedestrian walks to block.

The best defense to trip-and-fall hazards is a good offense. Perform a pedestrian circulation analysis, a trip hazard inventory, and mitigate the problems you identify. Provide adequate lighting and use signs and travel arrows to separate vehicles and cars.

For more information, contact Tim Gawenus, P.E. at tgawenus@fisherassoc.com or at 585-334-1310.