Howard County's Bollards attacked Teddy (and they lie in wait for the rest of the neighborhood kids)

We tried to warn them, but did they listen? Nooooooo. It was only a matter of time, we told them. Someone's child is going is going to get hurt; cuts and bruises- certainly, a broken arm or leg - only a matter of time, a head injury - a definite possibility... Howard County's Department of Rec and Parks left messages unanswered and what unofficial information we could get said that the new bollards that were installed just had to be there...

Okay, first of all I need to stop and be amused at the word bollard.... I mean, seriously, bollard? Can't you just say big wooden post? The dictionary.com definition is:

bol·lard (bŏl'ərd) n.
(1) Nautical A thick post on a ship or wharf, used for securing ropes and hawsers.
(2) One of a series of posts preventing vehicles from entering an area.

So the posts that Howard County installed to mark the narrow strip of land they own between my house and my neighbor's house are bollards? Hmmm I guess that would explain the no fishing signs that were on the temporary metal ones before these big 4x4 posts were cemented into the ground. It's odd but until now the word nautical hadn't popped to mind when looking at this grassy area, but I guess I should be grateful that these bollards will prevent traffic from deciding to detour into the woods behind our homes.

So of course, the first child hurt is Teddy. Teddy is not one of the kids in the neighborhood that will lay out for a pass during one of the many football games that take place between our two houses, but he will risk life and limb to intercept a pass from Jackson and so it was on this warm Saturday afternoon - the babysitter threw a pass to Jackson and Teddy raced across the front yard and intercepted the ball. He turned to score and ran smack dab into one of the bollards the County decided to mark their property with. His chest hit first and he got a nasty scratch/gash thingy that turned some pretty shades of purple before it was all healed. Brad's first comment to Teddy when we saw his chest the next morning was... "well, did you drop the pass?" The answer was yes and Brad was very disappointed.

Since they were installed our home owners' association has been trying to talk to the County about the bollards, we all knew someone - really lots of someones were going to get hurt but all of the messages went unanswered until finally a County employee out here on another matter talked to Mark from our HOA and told him that there was a safer alternative; a metal spike sort of thing that can be embedded underground instead of these big huge immobile bollards and we could have these installed for the bargain price of $250 each. I'm not sure if that included the removal of the bollards, or if that part was up to us. I must say, my first reaction to the cost was shock - that certainly sounds like the County asking us to pay them to prevent future lawsuits against them... I guess it's nice work if you can get it.

So while the HOA continues along their path I sent an email to our County Executive, Ken Ulman, along with a bunch of pictures - of Teddy's chest, of the field in which the bollards now sit, of the safer spike option the County told us exists - and in less than two weeks we've had some good progress. Candace Dodson-Reed one of the County's Community Liaisons called to let me know the County was going to replace the two "front" bollards; the ones closest to the street with the underground stakes at no cost to us. I told her I was thrilled they're going to do that, but it's actually one of the "rear" bollards that in my opinion poses the most risk. It's truly in the middle of a wide open space; just exactly where the deep passes are thrown. She said she was going to consult with Park and Recs again and get back to me. I am so far pleased with the County Executive's responsiveness and hope the rest of the bollards are removed as well before another child is injured, possibly much more seriously than Teddy was.

The top two were taken the day after he ran into the post. They lack all the fun colors his chest turned over the days that followed. The bottom two are pictures of the posts themselves. The first bollard picture is the one near the street that he ran into and though I didn't show it well, it's really just out there all by itself. The 2nd bollard picture is of the two in the "rear", further away from the street and as you can see the bollard on the left is totally in no man's land, just waiting for a kid to run full force into it while tracking the ball instead of the ground.

This is a picture of the stake the guy from the county showed us that is a safer alternative.