To Rent or Purchase Barricades? That is the Question!

One of the best features about living in Phoenix, Arizona is all of the amazing festivals, events, and street parties that go on within the city’s limits all year long.  People from all walks of life travel from both near and far to see some of the city’s annual events including Comic Con, FBR Open, Fiesta Bowl, Barrett-Jackson Antique Auto Auction and so many more it would make your head spin.

As a barricade equipment rental company, we at Action Barricade are often asked whether or not our client’s should rent or purchase barricades for their next big event or street party, which we always answer by explaining to them that they should appropriately weigh all of the options available to them.

This is something we are always more than happy to help our clients explore which is why we are dedicating this weeks’ blog to exploring the pros and cons of whether you should rent or purchase barricades.  We hope this information will help you make the most informed decision regarding your available options.

The Pros and Cons of Renting Barricades

The biggest pro for renting barricades is that our professional installers will deliver and install all of the equipment you requested per your exact specifications in the minimalist of time.  Once your scheduled event is over we will promptly arrive to pick up the equipment.  All of the equipment within our portfolio has been designed to meet strict reliability and safety requirements.

The cost of renting barricades can sometimes tends to land on the con side of the fence.   However, we make renting barricades easier on your budget, by ensuring our rental prices remain affordable.  We won’t push you into renting more equipment than you’ll need.  This will enable you to save more money on the cost of your rental; no matter the length of your rental period; whether it be days, weeks or months.

The Pros and Cons of Purchasing Barricades

One of the most common reasons why our event coordinator clients’ prefer to purchase barricades is to save money.  However, this is only recommended for those that plan the same events, in the same location year after year.  If you have the money, and space, up front to invest in the purchase of barricades then by all means go right ahead.

Wait, we mentioned space, right?  Yep, we most certainly did!  If you don’t have the space to store this type of equipment at your location, or you only host an event a handful of times per year, then you may want to reconsider renting barricades rather than purchasing them.  Remember this equipment will require considerable space and that renting a storage locker will only increase your expense.

Traffic Control Devices | A History Lesson

As we drive through the many streets, highways and freeways that make up Arizona’s roadways, we will often find ourselves faced with one traffic control device, after another.  The variations of the traffic control equipment on the roadways today – as many of you have already noticed – are immense.

However, these devices don’t go without their fair share of history, nor did they arrive without their fair share of challenges. Many manufactures began developing traffic control devices and signs shortly after the arrival of the first-ever automobile; over 100 years ago.  These devices are on our roadways, not to frustrate us unnecessarily, but rather to insure we meet our destination safely.

Now for Some Interesting Facts

Road Surface Markings – The first road surface marking in history was a center line that was painted in Michigan in 1911.  Road surface markings provide guidance and information to both drivers and pedestrians.  Today road surface markings can be mechanical, non-mechanical or temporary.

Traffic Signals – Manually controlled traffic lights became commonplace, when in 1914, the state of Cleveland hung electric lights across its roadways that lit up the words “stop” and “go”.  The 3-color traffic signals that we commonly use today, however, weren’t installed until 1920 in Detroit.

Stop Signs – With the arrival of 1915, the state of Detroit saw the installation of the very first “stop” sign, which at the time had black lettering written across a white background.  In 1922, the increased use of this signage led to the development of the octagon shape that we are all familiar with.

Road Symbol Signs – We gradually started seeing the installation of road symbol signs within the 1960’s.  These signs commonly depict road conditions, speed limits, U.S. highway route numbers and other travel information for drivers.  As more and road symbol signs were adopted and installed, we saw fewer navigational problems.

Today, we now have more traffic control devices than ever before including; devices that monitor traffic such as traffic cams, solar-powered message boards that tell us how many minutes we can expect to spend on the road before we meet our destination, and road barricades that keep us from going in a direction we shouldn’t.  For more information, please contact Action Barricade.