Commercial Property Liability: When Bollards Become a Legal Requirement

Here's a question that keeps commercial property managers up at night: "Am I legally required to have bollards?"

The short answer is: probably not — there's no Alberta statute that specifically mandates bollards for most commercial properties. But the longer, more important answer is: it doesn't matter whether they're "required." What matters is whether a court would find you negligent for not having them.

And increasingly, Canadian courts are answering yes.

The Duty of Care Standard

Canadian property law doesn't work on a checklist of required safety features. Instead, it operates on the duty of care standard under the Alberta Occupiers' Liability Act. This means:

• Property owners must take reasonable care to ensure visitors are safe
• What constitutes "reasonable care" depends on foreseeable risks
• If a risk is foreseeable and prevention is practical, failure to prevent it can constitute negligence

The critical question in any liability case is: "Would a reasonable person in the property owner's position have taken steps to prevent this?"

How This Applies to Bollards

When a vehicle crashes into a commercial building, the legal analysis follows this logic:

1. 1Was the risk foreseeable? Vehicle-into-building crashes happen across Canada approximately every 18 minutes. For a building adjacent to a parking lot, the risk is clearly foreseeable.

1. 1Was prevention practical? Bollard installation costs $400–$1,200 per bollard and takes 1–2 days. Courts consistently find that low-cost, readily available safety measures create a higher expectation of implementation.

1. 1Was the property owner aware of the risk? If a site security assessment identified the vulnerability, or if similar incidents had occurred nearby, awareness is established.

1. 1Did the property owner act? If the answer is no, negligence is difficult to defend against.

Real Cases Where Bollards (Or Their Absence) Mattered

The Richmond Hill Daycare (2025)

When an SUV crashed through a Richmond Hill daycare wall, killing 18-month-old Liam Riazati, the immediate public and legal response focused on one question: why were there no barriers?

Ontario responded with a $20 million fund for daycare barriers — an implicit government acknowledgment that barriers should have been there. Future daycares without barriers face significantly elevated liability exposure.

The Storefront Safety Council Data

The Storefront Safety Council tracks vehicle-into-building incidents across North America and reports:

• Over 100 deaths per year from vehicle-into-building crashes
• More than 4,000 serious injuries annually
• The vast majority occur at buildings adjacent to parking lots without bollards

This data is increasingly cited in liability cases to establish that the risk was well-documented and widely known — making claims of unawareness harder to sustain.

Insurance Industry Trends

Canadian commercial insurers are increasingly:

• Asking about bollard protection on property insurance applications
• Offering premium discounts for properties with documented barrier installations
• Denying or limiting claims where foreseeable vehicle intrusion risks were not addressed
• Including bollard recommendations in loss prevention reports

When your insurance company recommends bollards and you don't install them, you've created a documented paper trail of acknowledged but unaddressed risk — the worst possible position in a liability case.

When Bollards ARE Specifically Required

While general bollard mandates don't exist, several specific situations do create explicit requirements:

1. 1Gas Stations and Fuel Pump Islands — Municipal building codes in Edmonton and Calgary require bollard protection around fuel pump islands and at-grade equipment. This is one of the few explicit bollard requirements in Alberta building regulations.
2. 2Fire Hydrant Protection — Municipal bylaws require bollards or barriers protecting fire hydrants in parking lots and drive aisles from vehicle damage.
3. 3Utility Equipment Protection — Electrical transformers, gas meters, and other at-grade utility equipment typically require bollard protection under utility company specifications and municipal codes.
4. 4Ontario Daycares (Post-2025) — Following the Richmond Hill tragedy, Ontario now provides funding for daycare barriers. While Alberta hasn't enacted a similar requirement, the Ontario precedent establishes a standard of care that Alberta courts may reference.
5. 5Workplace Safety (Alberta OHS) — For warehouses and industrial facilities, Alberta OHS regulations require employers to control identified hazards — including forklift impacts on building structures, racking, and pedestrian zones. Bollards and barriers are the standard engineering control for these hazards.

The Cost of Liability vs. The Cost of Prevention

The math is straightforward: $5,000–$15,000 in prevention vs. six- or seven-figure liability exposure.

What Property Owners Should Do Now

Step 1: Assess Your Exposure

Commission a site security risk assessment to formally identify vehicle intrusion risks. This document becomes your evidence of reasonable care — proving you took the issue seriously and acted on professional recommendations.

Step 2: Prioritize by Risk

Not every building face needs bollards. Focus first on: - Building faces adjacent to parking lots (especially glass frontage) - Areas where vulnerable populations occupy ground-floor spaces (daycares, clinics, senior centres) - High-value retail frontage at risk of ram-raid theft - Gas station pump islands and equipment

Step 3: Install and Document

Install appropriate bollard protection and document everything: - Assessment report - Installation specifications - Photos before and after installation - Maintenance records

Step 4: Notify Your Insurer

Send your insurer the assessment report and installation documentation. This may immediately reduce your premiums and establishes a proactive safety record that strengthens your position in any future claim.

The Trend Is Clear

Canadian courts, insurers, and regulators are moving toward holding property owners accountable for foreseeable vehicle intrusion risks. The Richmond Hill tragedy, the Ontario barrier fund, rising insurance scrutiny, and growing public awareness all point in one direction:

Bollards are becoming the standard of care for commercial properties adjacent to vehicle areas.

The question for Alberta property owners isn't whether to install bollards — it's whether you can afford the risk of not installing them.