Pedestrian and cycle friendly gully gratings

Whilst BS EN 124 provides no definition for a ‘Pedestrianised’ grating, there is an allowance in the Standard to reduce drainage apertures down to 5mm wide, where these may be preferred.

However, this restriction is avoided, wherever possible, as such gratings may not satisfy a scheme’s drainage requirements unless its lower waterway area is taken account of in the scheme’s design calculations. Therefore, pedestrianised gratings need to balance aperture size that prevents wheels and shoes from becoming lodged in its slot apertures, with the required waterway (drainage) area.

In theory, all gratings compliant to BS EN 124 should be pedestrian and cycle safe as the aperture restrictions are aimed at maintaining traffic safety while providing drainage capability, which of course does not exclude various traffic types (including pedestrians) accessing other Group application areas not necessarily specifically intended for them but where they could reasonably be expected to be present.  E.g. Pedestrians walking across Group 4 (D400/E600 class) carriageways.

“Heel safe” is a term that’s often used, but it’s important to note that it isn’t actually defined in any British or European Standard. There’s no formal specification that governs a minimum or maximum aperture size in a gully grating specifically to make it “heel safe”.

In practice, what’s usually meant by the phrase is that the grating’s slot or hole sizes are small enough to reduce the risk of high-heeled footwear becoming caught. While this is a valid design consideration in certain pedestrian areas, it’s not a defined performance requirement under BS EN 124 or any related guidance.

We do offer gratings with reduced aperture sizes designed to be more pedestrian-friendly, particularly in areas with heavy foot traffic such as shopping streets or cycleways. These designs balance drainage performance with improved safety and comfort for all users, including those in heeled shoes or pushing prams and wheelchairs.

We offer a number of suitable gratings in our Highway and Unite ranges. Full details are available in the related products list below.