Improving Safety on the Iron Horse Trail

Danville, California

Bollards, Bicycles & Pedestrians

Executive Summary This report focuses on and identifies safety hazards posed by the dull dark brown bollards on the Iron Horse Trail in Danville, California.  Bollards are 4” PVC posts placed in the middle of the trail to discourage unauthorized automobile traffic, but they create a barrier for bicycle and pedestrian traffic, are a potentially deadly hazard for cyclists, and are difficult for cyclists and motorists to see.

The existing bollards were installed many years ago when modern trail standards and guidelines were in their infancy.  We propose that the East Bay Regional Park and the Town of Danville create an active partnership to improve the safety conditions on the trail, especially at street crossings where the bollards are installed, by following recommendations from the 2020 CalTrans Highway Design Manual (Chapter 1000) and the City of Oakland.

  • Paint the bollards a bright yellow color and add at least two levels of reflectorized tape.
  • Paint 10 ft yellow diamonds on the pavement up and downstream of each bollard.
  • Use bollards that will break or bend at ground level when struck by a cyclist.
  • Reinstall bollards so there is never more than one in the lane of travel (i.e., two travel lanes).
  • Reinstall bollards so there are at least 60 inches between the bollard and the adjacent fence post or gate.
  • Remove standalone bollards from the trail.
  • Create a bollard standard so that trail users and motorists can more easily recognize the barrier.

Introduction Residents of Danville have the privilege of easy access to the Iron Horse Trail.  The trail was established in 1986 and its bicycle and pedestrian facilities have been evolving and improving as the population of Danville grew from about 28,000 to 43,000 and traffic on the trail increased significantly.  Today an average of about 700 bicycles per day travel the trail in Danville together with about the same number of pedestrians (ref. EBRPD data at Love Lane).  We believe that safety improvements have not kept pace with increases in trail use and the local population.

On April 23, 2022, Rob Reyes (photo below) was killed when he crashed into a bollard while riding his bicycle with a group of friends on the West County Regional Trail in Santa Rosa.

In memory of Rob’s death and in order to reduce the risk of a similar occurrence, we decided to review the safety hazards and potential dangers that dull dark brown bollards pose to cyclists and other trail users on the Iron Horse Trail (IHT) from Hartford Drive to Fostoria Way in Danville. Details are provided in the attached Appendixes  The dark brown bollards were installed by and are maintained by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD).

READ THE ENTIRE REPORT HERE: BOLLARD REPORT(IHT DANVILLE) FEB 1, 2023)

WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO BELOW TO UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF DARK BROWN BOLLARDS ON MULTI-USE TRAILS: