Retractable bollards sink into the ground to let a vehicle through and rise again to close the way. Automatic ones are driven by a hydraulic or electromechanical unit and work from a remote, an access card, an intercom or a timer. Semi-automatic ones are lowered by hand with a key and lifted by a gas strut. They suit pedestrian streets, delivery entrances, estate gates and secure parking. Describe the opening and how it should work, and we pass your request to independent installers near you, who quote you directly.
Automatic or semi-automatic
An automatic bollard is the choice where vehicles pass many times a day and nobody wants to get out of the car. It ties into the same access control as a boom gate: remotes, keypads, cards or an intercom. A semi-automatic bollard costs less, needs no power and suits a gate used a few times a week, such as a fire lane or a loading bay. If the post only comes out now and then, a removable bollard may be simpler still.
The pit, the water and the power
Each post sits in a steel housing in a pit dug below it, set in concrete. Water is the main enemy: the pit needs a drain to a stormwater line or a soakaway, or the mechanism stands in water after every Highveld storm. Automatic units also need power and control cables in conduit back to a panel, laid by an electrician. Before the dig, check for services and ask the municipality if the work touches a sidewalk or road reserve.
Safety and load-shedding
- Safety loops or sensors in the road so a post never rises under a car
- Lights or a warning tone while the post moves
- A backup battery so it still works during load-shedding
- A manual release to lower it for an ambulance or fire truck
Ask each installer to show how their system handles a power cut and who holds the release key. On a busy lane, also ask how long a full cycle takes, because a slow post backs up cars at peak times and tempts drivers to follow too closely behind the car in front.
Servicing and ratings
Moving parts need regular servicing: cleaning the pit, checking the drain, oil levels on hydraulic units, seals and the lights on the post head. Ask for a service plan and a price per visit up front. If the opening must stop a hostile vehicle, some retractable posts are crash-rated; see our anti-ram bollards page. A knocked or stuck post is a job for bollard repairs. Keep a record of each service, as many faults start with a blocked drain or worn seal that was easy to spot.
What to put in your request
- How many openings and how wide each one is
- Automatic or semi-automatic posts
- How it is controlled: remote, card or intercom
- Where power and stormwater drainage are
- How often vehicles pass each day
Retractable and Automatic Bollards for homes, businesses and public spaces
- Homeowners: a semi-automatic post at a long driveway entrance for a house on a busy street
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: automatic posts beside a boom gate or across an emergency access road
- Shops, malls and petrol stations: delivery lanes behind a mall that open for trucks and close after hours
- Offices, hotels and car parks: secure executive parking and office park lanes opened by access card
- Warehouses, factories and depots: plant gates where trucks pass on a schedule and the lane stays closed otherwise
- Municipalities and public spaces: pedestrian streets and squares opened for service vehicles in the morning
- Schools, hospitals and campuses: hospital and campus roads with emergency access that must open fast
- Contractors and event organisers: automatic bollards supplied and wired as part of a building or civil job
Frequently asked questions
What happens to retractable bollards during load-shedding?
Can a retractable bollard rise into a car?
How deep is the pit for an automatic bollard?
Do you install retractable bollards?
Retractable and Automatic Bollards by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg