Frequently Asked Questions While Setting Up Pedestrian Barriers

Pedestrian barriers, also known as steel barricades, are commonly used to control large crowds and mitigate the negative consequences of such crowds. Such barriers act as an organizational tool as well as a safety measure. When used correctly, they can help turn your event (such as music festivals, sales, and athletic events) into a success!

We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions our representatives receive and their answers in this article. Let’s begin!

Question One: Steel Barricades are Expensive – How Do I Maximize the Return on My Investment?

Looking at steel barricades and other crowd control efforts as investments is important because they have the potential to add to your business, but as business owners, you would want to make the most of the money you are putting in.

A great way to maximize the return on your investment is by using barrier jackets – a layer of cloth that you can put on top of your barriers. These jackets are prime advertisement space, and companies are willing to pay big bucks for advertisement at major events where they will receive maximum exposure. You can sell this advert space to potential sponsors – this will eventually play a big role in getting a return on your investment.

Question Two: Can I Not Just Get Away With Stanchion Posts?

Stanchion posts are an effective crowd control method for smaller crowds and events that are on a smaller scale. For effective, large-scale crowd control, stanchions will not be enough.

Stanchions and similar queue management systems can be easily tampered with due to their light weight and small size. Steel barricades are a more heavy-duty form of managing queues; they are much larger and heavier. The larger size also has an influence on how people perceive the rules; steel barricades are taken much more seriously, while people can easily skip through stanchion posts.

Question Three: Where and When are Steel Barricades Needed?

Any business, event, or organization that involves crowds will be in need of steel barricades. Examples include:

• Parking lots
• Hotels, resorts, and amusement parks
• Stadiums and athletic events
• Festivals and parades
• Political rallies and protests
• Shopping centers

Pedestrian barriers are needed to control the large crowds that accompany such venues and events.

Question Four: Do I Really Need Pedestrian Barriers?

If you plan on dealing with a large crowd, you will really need pedestrian barriers.

Let’s take the example of a hypothetical concert. A famous singer plans to hold a concert in a small town and employs you to be the organizer of the event. Since the town is small and there is not much population residing there, you decide to forego the pedestrian barriers for the concert.

However, you have underestimated the people that would attend. It turns out that the town residents have told their out-of-town friends and family about the concert and they have come to attend as well. The lack of steel barricades causes chaos in the parking area, ticketing booth, and the concert area itself.

But that isn’t even the worst part. During the concert, all the attendees make an effort to get onto the stage to meet the singer. Everyone is pushing and pulling each other in an effort to get onto the stage. This leaves many people injured, and ambulances have to be called.

Because they got injured, some of the attendees are suing you for damages while the singer is upset about the badly organized event and gives you a bad rep.

If you want to avoid a potential situation like this, then yes, you really need pedestrian barriers.

Question Five: When Should I Begin Setting Up My Barricades?

You should begin to set up your barriers before your crowds form. You should get a good idea of when people will begin to show up; for example, if your event begins in the afternoon, crowds can begin to form from the morning. So you should set up your barricades at least the day or night before.

Question Six: How Should I Set Up My Barricades?

Barricades should be set up with enough “breathing room.” This means that you should set up barricades a little longer than you planned. This is because when people wait in line for a long while, they tend to try to move ahead and press forward in anticipation. Your barricades should have enough room that people can easily walk in and out without creating much rush.

Setting up your queue with clearly defined signs (such as those to mark the entrance and exit) is essential to reduce confusion. Barricades can also be equipped with arrows to show people what direction they need to be going in.

A pro tip is that barricades should be set up in a way that lines do not begin at the entrance and exit. This will cause crowds to bottleneck at the start and end points and can lead to chaos, fighting, riots, and injuries.

There are two different barricade setups you can choose from based on the type of event you are planning: venue barricade setup and street barricade setup.

Venue Barricade Setup

Venue barricade setups are for events leading to a venue or retail stores. They follow the format of queue entrance, queue, queue exit/collection point, and goal/destination. All points within this setup should be equipped with clear signs to inform individuals about where they are and guide them to the final destination.

Street Barricade Setup

Street barricade setups are meant for political events, protests, rallies, and parades. This type of setup includes the holding area and the points of egress. The holding area is meant for the general public and is used to keep them out of the main event space (such as the concert stage or the path through which the parade will pass through). The points of egress move away from the holding area; they give attendees the option to leave the holding area while the event is still going on.