The bells...the bells

[kevh_uk]

I've noticed that a hell of alot of the street corners in at least some of the south east london boroughs (lewisham, lee, blackheath, new cross, greenwich, catford) have pairs of big metal bells on them...has anybody else noticed this and can anyone tell me what they symbolise?

[Fitzer]

If you mean the ones on the edge of the pavement they are there to prevent vehicles  from cutting over the corners and trashing the kerbs and paving stones. Why they are shaped like bells is something I've wondered about, I supposed it was just because the bell is a pleasant shape.

[Fitzer]

Just to satisfy my own curiosity I did some research (Google), apparently the shallow angle of the lower part of the bell allows the vehicle wheel to mount it so that the sharper angle higher up can then deflect it away. The more usual tall bollards just get knocked over when hit although they do deflect the vehicle, these just cause it to bounce off.

[Grunty]

I haven't seen them, but I am sure Fitzer is right.  It seems a shame that parking on pavements is tolerated so much.  Pavements are made for the weight of people, not vehicles, and two incidents some years ago illustrate this.  One, which I saw, was the road on fire for 150 yards after the gas mains had been damaged.  The other, which I did not see personally, was a vehicle that fell through into a cellar.