Public Works: Bollard Housing Rack

The Challenge

As part of the City of Bloomington’s plan to allow Kirkwood Avenue - a popular shopping and dining destination downtown - to be closed to motorized vehicles from time to time for events, 100 non-mechanical temporary bollards were installed at the intersections. 

Our bollards are short vertical posts covered by heavy brightly colored housings that prevent motorized traffic from entering an area and allow the street to be transformed into a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly boulevard. Working in collaboration with the Kirkwood Business Association it was decided to place the bollards every Thursday at 12pm and remove them on Monday’s at 7am through the last weekend of September.  

When not in use, the concrete bollard posts rest below the surface of the road. The initial plan was to store the bollard housings on a portable trailer that would have to be transported to and from the installation sites along Kirkwood every week.  

The Idea

Instead of transporting the bollard housings to and from the installation site, Michael Large - Public Works Special Projects and Operations Manager contacted Fleet Maintenance Manager Jason Speer about whether his staff might fabricate a rack that would keep the bollard housing secure and protected from damage while allowing it to be stored on site, close to where they would be installed.  

Jason recommended that Michael consult with Ryan Hillenburg and Frank Robinson. Ryan and Frank are well-known for their problem-solving prowess and their ability to create custom parts that are becoming more and more unavailable during the pandemic.

Frank and Ryan designed a rack that would hold up to six bollard housing units. Each bollard housing unit weighs 125 pounds. Frank and Ryan’s design also allows for the units to be easily lifted onto or off of the rack. The team was able to fabricate sixteen six-unit racks in two business weeks. 
 

The Cost

The city was originally quoted $530 per rack by the manufacturer and would have needed to spend another $120-$300 per rack to have them painted. Each rack created by Ryan and Frank cost $200 in materials and approximately $40 in labor dollars resulting in a total cost savings of $410-$590 per rack or $7,000-$10,000 in total. In addition the steel that was used for the racks is a higher gauge, more durable steel which increases its life expectancy significantly - a very important factor since they are exposed to the outdoor elements year round. 

The Benefits

Even if the team was able to order a comparable rack, supply chains throughout the world have been dramatically impacted by the pandemic and the timeframe by when the rack could have been delivered was a big question mark. So, the team got exactly the equipment needed for the job, in the time they needed it, and for a total savings of an estimated $7,000-$10,000. 

The team would like to thank their manager, Jason Speer, for his leadership in creating the kind of environment where employees feel empowered to proactively create these kinds of solutions for our employees and residents.

Metadata

City Department(s): Public Works, Fleet Maintenance Div, Street Div, Facilities Maintenance

City Point of Contact: Michael Large, Ryan Hillenburg, Frank Robinson

Partner(s): N/A

Partner(s) Point(s) of Contact: N/A

Type of Innovation: Mechanical

Date Implemented: July 2020