Why Crowded Public Spaces Require Stronger Vehicle Protection
Crowded public spaces bring pedestrians, public transport, service vehicles and authorised traffic into close proximity. In places such as Melbourne’s CBD, sporting precincts, transport areas and major event venues, security needs to reduce vehicle-related risk without unnecessarily restricting how people move through the space.
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) helps create separation between vehicles and pedestrians using measures such as crash-rated bollards, barriers, gates and security-focused street furniture. The aim is not simply to block access, but to protect people while maintaining controlled vehicle entry, pedestrian movement and the character of the surrounding streetscape.
Protecting Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall with Steel Bollards
Ezi Security was involved in delivering the HVM measures used to strengthen protection around Bourke Street Mall, where Channel 9 reported the installation of 131 steel bollards around key pedestrian approaches. The footage shows the bollards forming a clear physical line while pedestrians, trams and everyday CBD activity continue around them.
Channel 9 coverage of security measures at Bourke Street Mall
Strategically positioned bollards can restrict unauthorised vehicle access without creating a closed barrier for people on foot. In a CBD environment, the design also needs to consider deliveries, emergency services, maintenance and other legitimate vehicle movements. Combining fixed protection with controlled access points allows the space to remain functional while strengthening pedestrian protection.
Melbourne Park: Strengthening Security Around a Major Sporting Venue
Melbourne Park presents a different challenge. During major events such as the Australian Open, large crowds move through the precinct alongside service vehicles, staff, deliveries, emergency access and surrounding road traffic.
Ezi Security was also involved in the protective security measures around Melbourne Park, where Channel 7’s Security Blitz footage shows rows of slimline steel bollards and large concrete protective blocks forming part of the wider perimeter. These measures help create separation between vehicles and pedestrian areas while allowing Melbourne Park to continue operating as a major sporting and entertainment destination.
Channel 7 footage showing protective measures around Melbourne Park.
The key lesson is that HVM needs to work with event operations. Crowd flow, authorised vehicle routes, emergency access and the surrounding road layout all influence how protection is positioned.
How Slimline Bollards Combine Security with Urban Design
Slimline bollards are particularly useful where vehicle protection needs to sit comfortably within a busy streetscape. Their narrower profile can create a protective line while still allowing people to move freely between them.
Ezi Security’s RB001-30 Slimline Rising Bollard uses a shallow-mount design intended to reduce the need to relocate underground utilities. It has been tested as a single bollard against a 7.5-tonne truck travelling at 48 km/h.
For higher-speed vehicle scenarios, the RB002-40 has been tested against a 7.2-tonne truck at 64 km/h, while the RB003-50 has been tested at 80 km/h.
This shallow-mount approach can be valuable in established urban areas where underground utilities, excavation depth and streetscape design all influence the final solution.
Going Beyond Bollards: Ezi Security’s HVM Solutions
Bollards are only one part of a broader HVM strategy. Ezi Security’s HVM range includes systems for different installation and threat requirements, including the H-Stop® HVM Barrier, Fixed Block 30 and 40, Wedge II and Truckstopper products.
H-Stop® provides surface-mounted protection without permanent fixtures, while other systems may be more appropriate where higher vehicle speeds, penetration limits or controlled vehicle access create different performance requirements.
Product selection should consider vehicle size and speed, available foundation depth, underground services, access requirements, installation constraints and whether protection needs to be temporary or permanent.
Security Through Street Furniture: Protection Without Compromising Design
HVM does not always need to look like conventional security infrastructure. Ezi’s Crash Bench 40 combines usable seating with a completely surface-mounted system rated against a 7.5-tonne truck travelling at 64 km/h.
The Surface Mounted Planter 40 provides the same tested vehicle scenario in a free-standing planter that requires no foundations, pinning or fixings. The In Ground Planter and Cycle Rail provide further ways to integrate vehicle protection into everyday public infrastructure.
This approach can help planners protect public areas while maintaining their everyday function and visual appeal. It is particularly useful in plazas, shopping precincts and other high-footfall spaces where landscaping, seating and pedestrian movement are important parts of the design.
Choosing the Right HVM Solution for Crowded Environments
There is no single HVM system that suits every crowded space. Effective design starts with pedestrian density, authorised vehicle movements, likely vehicle approach routes, threat assessment, emergency access and the way the site operates.
Physical conditions matter too. Underground services, drainage and limited excavation depth can restrict traditional foundations. Ezi Security provides both temporary and permanent security solutions, including surface-mounted systems that can reduce the need for extensive excavation where underground utilities are a concern.
Ezi Security has worked in perimeter security for more than 30 years, with specialised experience in HVM and crowded-space protection. Its product range includes systems tested to recognised standards such as PAS68:2013, IWA14-1:2013 and ISO 22343-1.
Building Safer Public Spaces Across Australia
Bourke Street Mall and Melbourne Park demonstrate why crowded-space protection needs to be tailored to the environment. One is a busy CBD pedestrian area shaped by trams and authorised access; the other is a major sporting precinct with changing crowd and vehicle movements.
These examples also show why a perimeter may need more than one form of vehicle control. One approach may require permanent fixed protection, while another needs controlled vehicle access or systems that can respond to changing event operations.
Ezi Security’s broader perimeter range includes crash-rated bollards, barriers and vehicle gates, alongside surface-mounted systems and security-focused street furniture.
Protecting People While Keeping Melbourne Moving
Together, Bourke Street Mall and Melbourne Park show that effective HVM must do two things at once: reduce vehicle-related risk and allow the space to keep working. The right combination of bollards, barriers, access controls and street furniture can protect people and infrastructure while maintaining pedestrian movement, legitimate vehicle access and day-to-day operations.
Protect Crowded Spaces with Proven HVM Solutions
From crash-rated bollards and HVM barriers to security street furniture, Ezi Security designs, manufactures and installs perimeter security systems for crowded public environments.