At Castlefield, in Manchester, the Bridgewater Canal Company is working with a company that specialises in "rising bollards" (that prevent cars driving into pedestrianised areas) to develop a special "falling bollard" for use alongside canals.
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Experimental bollards at Castlefield
When a boat arrives at a mooring, the boater puts the ropes around the bollards and ties back onto the boat. The bollards are tall enough to prevent passers-by lifting the ropes off. Sensors on each bollard detect when a boat is attached. After the permitted mooring time has elapsed, the bollards will automatically retract into the ground. The ropes will then have nothing to attach to allowing the boat to drift away.
"We are convinced that boaters will not want this to happen and will ensure that they move on before the time limit expires," explained Francis Egerton for the canal company. "The Bridgewater Canal has always been a leader in the waterways sphere and we believe this is the first time an innovative solution such as this has been used."
Meanwhile BW is getting ready to install experimental parking meters at busy moorings at several locations on its canals. Popular moorings such as Marple, Lancaster, Skipton and Sheffield are thought to be included.
BW spokesman Sidd Finch said: "We have found that a system of paying for moorings at Llangollen has worked well in ensuring that there is a frequent turnover of moorers. The use of mooring meters will build on that successful experience but will eliminate the need to have someone on hand to collect mooring fees.
"They will look like normal parking meters, but will work on days rather than hours. Instead of looking at your watch, you will need to pay careful attention to the date," he explained.
Some boaters were unhappy with the falling bollards in Manchester, however. "We had hoped for something better than this," complained boater Joel Pirak. "We feel they are a bit of a let down." He found his narrowboat Parasol of Idyl adrift after the bollards retracted prematurely. "They haven't gone down well with other boaters, either," he added.
Francis Egerton said "This was just a first attempt so we will need to iron out any problems that arose. The trial ends at midday but we are confident that the experiment will have been a success and that these bollards will appear at popular mooring honeypots all over the country."
(Boaters wishing to learn more about BW's mooring meter proposals should contact Sidd Finch.)
