TRAFFIC BARRIER REDESIGN PROPOSAL
Our task was to redesign the traffic barriers for the City of Edmonton in conjunction with the University of Alberta and City of Edmonton Traffic Division. Key highlights of interest were transport capacity, lightweight/ergonomics, economics, weather resistance and durability, and accessible manufacturing. Our design featured improvements in usability, worker safety, stackability, and transportability.
*Design work was done in partnership with Lisa Ha, Patrick Dawe, and Todd Pruden.
Materials: powder coated cold rolled steel, 3M reflectors, sheet metal, cold rolled steel round tubing, scaffold pins, plywood sign.
Barrier can be configured for multiple contexts.
Above left: With a racking system, as many as 52 barriers could be mounted on the truck bed.
Above right: Scaffold pin system for rotating legs.
IMPACT
The main difficulties of the existing barriers were:
• Transport capacity: Significant losses in time and money were attributed to the high volumes of trips required to transport barriers to and from job sites, due to the low number of barriers (about 20) that are able to fit on the bed of the transport trucks at one time.
• Weight and ergonomics: At between 40-60 pounds, the barriers weight was significant, especially when the wood has absorbed moisture from the elements.
• Durability: Wood materials rot and wear with time.
• Damaged components are not easily replaced.
Our prototype features:
• More than doubled transport capacity: As many as 40-50 barriers can be placed on the bed of the truck at one time.
• At about one quarter the weight, our barricade makes for safer and more ergonomic handling for crews.
• Rotating legs allows more versatility in configuring the barrier in confined spaces.
• Ergonomic spring clips provide minimal assembly time, reducing operating costs.
• Legs and cross members can be easily replaced when damaged and separated for storage.
• The barriers can be stacked for transport, with the possibility of a racking system mounted on the bed to further improve efficiency and safety of loading and unloading the barriers.
OUR PROCESS
Our process included a holistic approach, considering the interests of multiple stakeholders. Preliminary research included a visit to City of Edmonton parks and roadways signs shop and yard, conversations with traffic management and traffic workers, and videos of workers loading and unloading barriers in traffic. We furthered our understanding with market research, research into Edmonton’s guidelines and procedures manuals, follow up interviews with City of Edmonton staff, and client consultations throughout our development process.
The following are a selection of my ideations and models for the project. To view a comprehensive documentation of the project, click here.
1:4 scale model used for prototyping purposes.
