MFD was a double finalist at the Institution of Highways and Transportation Awards held on the 5th June 2008 at the Guildhall in London. In the CPNI sponsored award category – Security in the Public Realm, MFD was technical advisor on the winning project – the Whitehall Streetscape and furthermore, MFD’s Shoe Lane project was commended by judges who said, “This was a very challenging civil engineering scheme in a utility rich and aesthetically sensitive area, requiring good design and a high quality of materials and finishes.”

MFD designed the City of London (CoL)/ Goldman Sachs project to enhance accessibility, safety, appearance and function of the Shoe Lane Quarter, a Fleet Street conservation area.
The sympathetic design solution incorporated hostile vehicle mitigation and traffic calming measures. Traffic volumes were reduced, by road closures, thereby improving safety to pedestrians, in order to attract more pedestrian use of the area.

MFD’s innovative designs used only approved, crash-rated products, to BSI PAS 68. Part of the scheme incorporated circular, hollow section, crash-rated bollard cores, onto which a large CoL replica bollard sleeve was secured. The final assembly resembling those non crash-rated, bollards seen elsewhere in the City.

Where appropriate a combination of bollards and planters were selected to reduce the visual impact of a potential “forest of bollards”. Raised planters introduced vegetation onto the street, complementing a few semi-mature trees, and enhanced the aesthetic and sustainable appeal of the scheme.

The judges commented further that they considered this to be an excellent example of partnership working between the private and public sectors to achieve security goals in the public realm.