If you are developing a neighbourhood or a commercial development, you may need to hire a concrete kerbing contractor to help set up your kerbs. As you decide where you want the kerbs to go and how you want them to look, you should keep safety in mind. To protect yourself and visitors to your area, consider the following safety tips.
Take Traffic Speed Into Account
When motor vehicles are moving relatively slowly, a kerb can actually prevent the vehicles from coming onto walking paths, playgrounds, or other pedestrian areas. In these situations, the vehicle's tyres hit the kerb and deter it from moving forward.
Unfortunately, however, when traffic is moving quickly, kerbs can have a different effect. If a vehicle loses control, it can basically jump over the kerb into your pedestrian area. When deciding where to put your kerbs, take the speed of nearby traffic into account, and if necessary, consider raised barriers between high-speed roadways and pedestrian areas.
Use Illuminated Paint on Kerbs
You may want to paint kerbs with illuminated paint so that passing traffic can see the kerbs. This encourages cars to stay on the road. At the same time, it also helps pedestrians to see the kerbs, which reduces the chance of them tripping and falling if they don't notice the change in height right away.
Consider Gradual Ramps Near Walkways
Ideally, you should try to minimise tripping hazards near walking paths. For instance, if you have kerbs between a car park and a sidewalk, you may want raised kerbs around most of the area, but near the designated pedestrian walkways, you may want to put in gradual ramps. In some cases, this may be required to make the area accessible for people in wheelchairs or with other mobility impairments.
Don't Forget About Drainage
Kerbs can also play a vital role in helping stormwater drain off your property. Imagine you have a car park. Ideally, your contractor creates the car park with a slight pitch. The pitch doesn't disrupt the drivers using the car park. However, it encourages stormwater to flow toward the edges of the car park. Then, the water basically hits the side of the kerb, and the kerb prevents the water from going up onto the sidewalk. At this point, the water should flow into storm drains that you have put into the ground next to the kerb.
To get more safety tips, talk with a kerbing contractor. They can help you come up with the right design and add safety features as needed.
There are still many people do not believe that women should be involved in DIY or construction jobs. My blog is here to prove them all wrong. My name is Connie and I have always been interested in construction and repair work around my home. Rather than just sitting back and letting someone else take care of the problem, I like to get stuck in so I can try and learn something. However, sometimes there are jobs I cannot do on my own. However, when I call in a contractor, I always take the time to chat with them so I can pick up a tip or trick which will help me in the future. I hope you like the articles on my blog.