Page:UK Traffic Signs Manual - Chapter 8 - Part 2- Traffic Safety Measures and Signs for Road Works and Temporary Situations) - Operations 2009.pdf/59



Requirements for maintaining pedestrian mobility are set out in Section O3.13. Particular attention should be paid to the needs of people with an impairment and particularly those who have a visual impairment. A pedestrian barrier should be provided on those sides of an obstruction that restrict pedestrian flows or are accessible to pedestrians whether or not there is any reason to expect pedestrians who are blind or who have a visual impairment at that location.

Pedestrian barriers and rails may be red and white as diagram 7105 with vertical posts coloured red. Base supports should not protrude more than 300 mm into the path of pedestrians and any vertical edge should be not more than 25 mm high. Temporary pedestrian routes should never b e less than 1 m wide, and wherever possible should be at least 1.5 m wide (see paragraph O3.13.5).

Pedestrian barriers should be of sufficiently solid construction to guide the blind and partially sighted. They should have a robust tapping rail fixed at a height of approximately 150 mm above ground level measured to the underside of the rail and a robust hand rail at a height of between 1.0 m and 1.2 m measured to the top of the rail. In both cases the rail should be at least 150 mm deep. The thickness and/or width will depend on the material and construction and will need to be such as to ensure sufficient strength.

Alternatively, when the site is continuously manned and covers are to be temporarily removed from underground access chambers, manholes etc., pedestrians may be protect ed by barriers of sufficient size to enclose both the chamber opening and its cover. In this case the hand rail must be fixed at a minimum height of 0.95 m (Work at Height Regulations 2005). The barrier should be continuous between supports and fixed so that it cannot be accidentally dislodged.

Pedestrian barriers alongside excavations should be the subject of a risk based assessment. Barriers alongside excavations greater than 300 mm in depth in high duty areas (>22 persons per minute, per linear metre width, for at least half of the working day) should be able to withstand crowd pressure and be at least 300 mm clear of the edge of the excavation. These barriers should comply with BS 7818 "Specification for pedestrian systems in metal". Lesser pedestrian trafficked footways may use other approved barrier systems that are rigid enough to guard pedestrians from traffic, excavations, plant and materials and withstand wind pressures.

Where the footway is diverted into the carriageway it will be necessary to provide a safety zone between the outer pedestrian barrier and the live traffic. If the works themselves are adjacent to or in the carriageway a safety zone will need to be provided as described in Section O3.2. The outer edge of the safety zone will be delineated by traffic cones or cylinders. The inner boundary of the safety zone may be delineated by a lightweight barrier, but see paragraph O3.2.11.

Traffic barriers for guiding vehicles past obstructions should be placed on the traffic side of the obstruction and should be red and white as shown in diagram 7105. The barrier should be placed between 0.8 m and 1.5 m above ground level. Where a driver is required to alter direction sharply, a sharp deviation of route sign to diagram 7104, pointing in the appropriate direction, should be erected as the barrier. See Table A1.2 (Appendix 1).

Vertical posts to traffic barriers should be coloured red and must be supported at the base in such a way that no part of the structure projects more than 300 mm towards the carriageway beyond the face of the barrier. Horizontal boards should be striped in alternate vertical 250 mm wide red and white bands to diagram 7105 and must be reflectorised, or illuminated either internally or externally during the hours of darkness (refer to Section O4.7). 57