The Overlooked Marking Category
When property owners think about parking lot striping, they think about line markings, arrows, and ADA symbols. Bollards and curb stops are often overlooked — they are physical objects rather than painted lines, so they seem outside the scope of a striping project. But painting these elements for visibility is a critical part of comprehensive lot marking, and it is frequently included in professional striping projects.
Unpainted bollards and curb stops blend into the pavement environment, especially at night, in rain, or when a driver's attention is focused on finding a parking space. The result is vehicles striking bollards (damaging the vehicle and potentially the bollard), drivers tripping over curb stops while walking, and property owners facing liability claims for inadequately marked hazards. For a full overview of lot marking elements, see our complete striping guide.
Bollards: What They Are and Why They Need Painting
Bollards are vertical posts installed in parking lots to protect storefronts, pedestrian areas, utility infrastructure, and other features from vehicle impact. They are typically 36 to 48 inches tall, made from steel pipe filled with concrete, and set into the pavement on concrete footings.
Standard Bollard Colors
Safety yellow (OSHA yellow). The most common and recommended color for parking lot bollards. Safety yellow provides maximum visibility against dark pavement backgrounds, communicates "hazard/caution" through the universal color association, and is the standard specified by OSHA for physical hazards in workplaces. For parking lots that also serve as workplaces (warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities), OSHA yellow is the clear choice.
Red. Used for fire-related bollards — those protecting fire hydrants, fire department connections, or delineating fire lanes. Red bollards communicate "fire/emergency" consistent with fire lane curbing.
White or gray. Sometimes used for aesthetic reasons in upscale retail or office environments. These colors provide less contrast than yellow but can be supplemented with reflective tape for nighttime visibility.
Reflective striping. Regardless of base color, bollards should have reflective tape or reflective paint at driver eye level (36 to 48 inches from the ground) to ensure headlight-level visibility at night.
Painting Method
Bollard painting involves surface preparation (wire brushing to remove rust, sanding to create a profile, and cleaning to remove dirt and debris), primer application (rust-inhibiting primer on bare steel), and two coats of high-visibility enamel or traffic paint. For steel bollards, an alkyd or epoxy enamel provides the best combination of color retention and corrosion protection.
Flexible bollard covers are an alternative to painting. These polyethylene sleeves slide over the bollard, providing consistent color and UV-resistant visibility without the need for repainting. They cost $25 to $75 each but eliminate the repainting cycle.
Curb Stops: Function and Marking
Curb stops (also called wheel stops, parking blocks, or bumper blocks) are the concrete or recycled-rubber blocks placed at the front of parking spaces to prevent vehicles from pulling too far forward. They protect sidewalks, landscaping, building walls, and pedestrians in walkways from vehicle overshoot.
Why Curb Stops Need Painting
Concrete curb stops are gray — essentially the same color as concrete sidewalks and similar to weathered asphalt. An unpainted curb stop is a tripping hazard for every pedestrian who walks through the parking lot, particularly at night, in rain, or for individuals with low vision. ADA guidelines require detectable edges on pedestrian path hazards, and contrasting paint is the most common method of providing this detection.
Curb Stop Colors
Safety yellow. The most common and recommended color. Yellow curb stops are visible in all lighting conditions and communicate "obstacle/caution" to both drivers and pedestrians.
Gray or unpainted. Unacceptable from a safety and liability perspective. An unpainted curb stop that causes a pedestrian fall is a straightforward liability case.
Matching lot colors. Some property managers paint curb stops to match the lot's color scheme. This is acceptable only if the chosen color provides sufficient contrast with the surrounding pavement for visibility in all conditions.
Painting Method
Curb stop painting involves sweeping or wire-brushing the surface clean, applying traffic-grade paint in the specified color, and ensuring all exposed surfaces — top, sides, and ends — are painted. Many contractors include curb stop painting as part of the standard striping scope.
Typical cost: $5 to $15 per curb stop for painting, which is minimal given the safety and liability benefit.
Reflective Treatments
Both bollards and curb stops benefit from reflective treatments that enhance nighttime and wet-weather visibility.
Reflective tape. Engineer-grade or high-intensity retroreflective tape applied in bands around bollards or along the top surface of curb stops provides headlight-level visibility. The tape lasts 3 to 7 years in outdoor conditions and is significantly more durable than reflective paint.
Reflective paint. Paint containing retroreflective glass beads provides modest reflectivity but is less effective than reflective tape. It is most useful as a supplement to high-visibility base colors.
Reflective bollard covers. Pre-manufactured bollard covers with integrated reflective bands provide both color visibility and retroreflectivity in a single product that slides over the bollard.
Maintenance Schedule
Bollard and curb stop paint fades and chips from UV exposure, weather, and physical impact. In Oregon's climate, expect to repaint these elements every 18 to 36 months depending on exposure.
Signs that repainting is needed:
- Yellow or red paint has faded to a washed-out or indeterminate color
- More than 25 percent of the painted surface is chipped, peeled, or bare
- Reflective tape is peeling, torn, or discolored
- Bollards or curb stops are difficult to see in low light
Include bollard and curb stop condition in your annual parking lot maintenance checklist. When scheduling sealcoating and striping, add bollard and curb stop painting to the scope for a comprehensive sealcoating and striping package that addresses all lot visibility elements.
Cost Overview
| Item | Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Bollard painting (per bollard) | $25-$60 |
| Bollard cover (per bollard) | $25-$75 |
| Curb stop painting (per stop) | $5-$15 |
| Reflective tape per bollard | $10-$25 |
| Reflective tape per curb stop | $5-$10 |
Liability Protection
Unmarked bollards and curb stops are among the most common sources of parking lot liability claims. Vehicle damage from striking unpainted bollards and pedestrian injuries from tripping over unmarked curb stops generate claims that typically exceed the cost of a decade of proper marking maintenance.
Courts evaluate whether the property owner took reasonable steps to make lot features visible. Properly painted, well-maintained bollards and curb stops with reflective treatments demonstrate reasonable care. Faded, chipped, or unpainted elements demonstrate the opposite.
Complete Lot Marking With Cojo
Cojo includes bollard and curb stop painting in comprehensive striping services projects. We paint all bollards in safety yellow with reflective treatments and all curb stops in high-visibility colors coordinated with your lot's overall marking scheme. We also provide asphalt maintenance for complete lot care.
Contact Cojo for a free assessment that covers all parking lot marking elements.