Bollards
Best Bollards for Storefront and Facade Protection
Cojo
May 7, 2026
7 min read
The six SKU categories that meet most storefront protection requirements are concrete-filled Schedule 80 steel pipe (general-purpose retail without formal threat assessment), F3016 low-speed certified (storefronts where pedal-misapplication is the dominant threat), F2656 K4 surface-mount (existing-slab retrofit), F2656 K4 embedded (new-construction retail), F2656 K8 reinforced (high-threat retail), and hybrid decorative cover over crash-rated steel core (architectural retail and historic districts). Picking among them depends on threat profile, foundation conditions, and aesthetic constraints.
Below: each of the six categories with the criteria we use to choose between them, anchor-depth specs, and the per-unit cost ranges we see in the Pacific Northwest commercial market through 2026. If your project crosses into non-storefront crash-rated work, our best security bollards 2026 reference covers the broader category.
The Storefront Safety Council documents roughly 60 vehicle-into-storefront crashes per day in the United States, with about a third causing injury. The most common cause is pedal misapplication (driver pressing the accelerator instead of the brake) at speeds typically below 30 mph. The second most common cause is intentional ramming as part of a smash-and-grab attack, which has documented case patterns at jewelry, banks, cannabis retail, and luxury-goods storefronts.
The Federal Highway Administration's pedestrian-safety guidance recognizes 30 mph as the threshold below which pedestrian-injury severity drops sharply FHWA Pedestrian Safety, which aligns with the ASTM F2656 K4 / M30 threshold ASTM F2656 and the ASTM F3016 30 mph low-speed threshold ASTM F3016. Storefront protection at most retail sites is appropriately rated to one of these two standards.
Five criteria narrow the field on most storefront projects:
The default storefront bollard for projects without a formal threat assessment requiring crash-rating. Six-inch diameter, Schedule 80 wall thickness, concrete-filled, embedded 36 inches in an 18-inch-diameter concrete footing. Painted OSHA safety yellow per 29 CFR 1910.144 OSHA Color Coding. Service life 30 to 45 years.
Industry Baseline Range: $600 to $1,500 installed per unit.
The right choice for storefronts where pedal-misapplication is the dominant threat. F3016 covers 10, 20, and 30 mph low-speed crash-rating with shallower foundation requirements than F2656. Six-inch diameter, certified system.
Industry Baseline Range: $1,200 to $2,800 installed per unit.
The retrofit choice for existing slabs where coring deep foundation is impractical. Surface-mount baseplate with engineered slab tie-in. K4 / M30 rating stops a 15,000-pound vehicle at 30 mph.
Industry Baseline Range: $900 to $2,500 installed per unit.
The new-construction choice when 36-inch foundation depth is available. Same K4 / M30 rating as the surface-mount variant; lower per-unit cost because the foundation is poured fresh.
Industry Baseline Range: $700 to $1,800 installed per unit.
The high-threat-retail choice for jewelry, banks, cannabis dispensaries, and any retail with a formal threat assessment supporting K8. Stops a 15,000-pound vehicle at 40 mph.
Industry Baseline Range: $2,500 to $5,000 installed per unit.
The architectural retail choice. A steel core handles the F3016 or F2656 crash-rating function; a slip-fit decorative cover (cast iron, ductile iron, aluminum, or polyethylene) provides the visible finish. Cover is replaceable independently of the core.
Industry Baseline Range: $1,500 to $6,500 installed per unit.
| Category | ASTM Rating | Vehicle Stop | Anchor Depth | Industry Baseline Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Schedule 80 non-rated | None | Incidental | 36 inch | $600 to $1,500 |
| 2. F3016 low-speed | F3016 P1/P2/P3 | 30 mph at 15K lbs | 24-30 inch | $1,200 to $2,800 |
| 3. F2656 K4 surface-mount | F2656 M30/P1 | 30 mph at 15K lbs | Existing slab + tie-in | $900 to $2,500 |
| 4. F2656 K4 embedded | F2656 M30/P1 | 30 mph at 15K lbs | 36 inch | $700 to $1,800 |
| 5. F2656 K8 reinforced | F2656 M40/P1 | 40 mph at 15K lbs | 48 inch + rebar | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| 6. Hybrid (core + cover) | Per core spec | Per core spec | Per core spec | $1,500 to $6,500 |
Steel surcharges remain elevated through Q2 2026 and have widened the cost gap between Schedule 40 and Schedule 80 systems. F2656 K8 reinforced systems carry an additional engineering-stamp cost ($1,500 to $5,000 per project) that smaller commercial K4 installations avoid. Cast-iron decorative covers have longer lead times (8 to 14 weeks for custom finishes) than aluminum or polyethylene alternatives. For deeper coverage of the K-rating thresholds, see our K4 vs K8 vs K12 crash-rating guide.
Standard storefront bollard layout places bollards along the facade at 4 to 5 foot center-to-center spacing for vehicle blocking, with a setback from the building face equal to one-third of the protected geometry. Door corners and accessible-entry lines often need additional bollards or reinforced anchoring because they are the high-frequency strike points.
Compliance overlap with ADA parking lot striping sometimes shifts bollard placement at accessible-entry crossings; the 36-inch clear pedestrian-path requirement under ADA Section 403 sets the minimum bollard-to-bollard clearance on accessible routes.
| Storefront Type | Recommended Category |
|---|---|
| Standard retail strip-center storefront | Category 4 (F2656 K4 embedded) for new, Category 3 (F2656 K4 surface-mount) for retrofit |
| Storefront where pedal-misapplication is the dominant threat | Category 2 (F3016 low-speed) |
| Storefront in a parking lot only with no high-speed approach | Category 1 (Schedule 80 non-rated) acceptable; Category 4 preferred |
| Jewelry / cannabis retail | Category 5 (F2656 K8 reinforced) |
| Bank entry with public approach | Category 5 (F2656 K8 reinforced) |
| Historic-district retail | Category 6 (Hybrid with cast-iron cover) |
| Modern civic-plaza retail | Category 6 (Hybrid with ductile-iron or aluminum cover) |
| Drive-thru lane attached to retail | Category 2 (F3016 low-speed) |
The crash-rating cert applies to the assembly as installed including the foundation. A K4 bollard with a 30-inch foundation does not carry a K4 rating; the manufacturer's tested system requires the 36-inch depth. Substitute foundation depth and the cert is invalidated.
In retrofit work where 36-inch coring is impossible (existing slabs, utility easements, restricted depth), the right answer is Category 3 (F2656 K4 surface-mount) which is engineered as a tested system at shallow depth, not a Category 4 unit installed at less than the specified depth.
On a 14,000-square-foot Salem retail-corridor project completed January 2026, Cojo crews installed twelve Category 4 (F2656 K4 embedded) bollards along the storefront after the property suffered a delivery-van strike that closed the entrance for nine days. The threat assessment justified K4 (parking-lot vehicle approach at typical 25 to 30 mph). Foundation pours were 36-inch in 18-inch diameter footings poured under the manufacturer's installation requirements. Six months later the bollards had absorbed two minor low-speed parking-lot strikes without damage.
Cojo serves the Salem service area and the rest of Oregon for storefront-bollard installations across all six categories.
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