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UK street furniture firm Townscape Products has looked again at Bollard design following a big surge in the number of minor bumps and collisions caused by pedestrian’s collecting Pokémon Go characters. Buildingtalk offers a sneak Pikachu at new Pokémon-proof bollards…
According to Townscape Products, the reported increase in the number of collisions between pedestrians and street objects is down to engrossed gamers collecting Pokémon Go characters.
Most these collisions are just embarrassing but can be dangerous and irritating to others. Some of these incidents involve items of street furniture such as bollards, bins, benches and posts – like the ones the Townscape manufactures. So BollardsHQ are on the case.
To help Pokémon-proof town centres, the bollard division of Townscape (BollardsHQ), has unveiled a new safety cushioned bollard sleeve dubbed the “Bump-b-gon”. They also aim to raise awareness and encourage a grown-up discussion about people’s changing interaction with the urban environment.
“Bump-b-gon” cushioned bollard sleeve
Jess Fergusson, sales manager, Townscape Products: “In the past people have proven themselves largely able to avoid bumping into street furniture despite not noticing it. Pokémon Go however changed this literally overnight. Many people are now noticing street furniture less quickly than it notices them – all because they’ve got their heads in their phones catching Pokémon! Worst of all – nobody knows the scale of the problem. In the UK, and indeed the world over – the frequency at which people are walking into poles, posts, bollards, bins and even street benches, before looking up sheepishly, checking if anybody noticed and never mentioning it again – must be mind boggling.”
Bump-b-gon will, hopefully, get the attention of focused gamers and prevent or, at least the cushion impact.
The trend of these minor mishaps from could continue to grow as ever more games, like Pokémon Go, very inventively, fuse virtual and real worlds.
If you are a Pokémon hunter or have had collisions with them, do share your expeperiences via the comments below. We would also like to have the views of councils and town planners throughout the UK to get a better idea of the scale of the problem so we can plan appropriate changes to street furniture.
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On Saturday I came close to colliding with a Pokémon hunter on a Boris bike in central London, weaving across a busy junction, oblivious of traffic. I was tempted to give him a scare to wake him out of his Pokémon induced reverie but it was too dangerous.
So I welcome any practical modifications to the urban landscape that might save lives – and the launch of the Pokémon-proof bollard safety concept will help reduce the numbers of minor and serious injuries to these Pokémon hunters. Perhaps they could be sponsored by Pokémon and include details of the nearest NHS A& E department where injured Pokémon hunters can join the accident prone drunks on the weekends .
Currently, we have a housing shortage, an underfunded and overused health service, together with unemployment i.e. overpopulation, and money is being wasted to allow for mindless idiots? Let Darwin apply, (unless of course it will mean dents on the van and an insurance claim). Let Pokemon look after its own, as I presume someone is making money out of the hunting lunacy. Perhaps they should take out an insurance policy and have a ‘hunter’ tax?