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guard rail

A more technical term is "median barrier" (or "median strip" if there is actually a strip of rocks or grass dividing the roads).

I don't know about "guard rail".
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Hi, farhad persona!

Personally, I tend to use, and have heard of, the term 'street fence' in this connection.

Guard rail, I believe, is used where there is some kind of protection action involved, as in a crib for babies.

Also, just to split hairs, it's 'refer', not 'reffer'.
I call the strip dividing the lanes the "central reservation", and the barrier on it - rather unimaginatively👁 Cool :cool:
- the "central reservation barrier".
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Thank you guys. What do you think of median fence?
It wouldn't work for me, farhad (see post 5)👁 Frown :(
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But much would depend on your audience. You might like to read this Wiki article (which, incidentally, mentions "guard rail" in the context of North America).

Who are you writing for?
In the USA the concrete barriers are called "Jersey barriers" after the location where they were first used.

Jersey barriers along with "bollards" are used to protect against vehicle intrusion not only in center medians, but also to protect buildings.

A picture is worth a thousand words: http://www.lordsutch.com/roads/ontario/400-1.jpg
I've never heard "Jersey barriers;" I've always just called them "concrete barriers."

The (metal) guard rails are guard rails, whether they're on the side of the road or in the middle. But they aren't the kind in farhad's picture; I've seen those in China, but not in the US. They seem to be used to prevent pedestrians from crossing in the middle of the street, and I've never been sure what to call them. These are what I mean by guard rails.
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I've never heard "Jersey barriers;" I've always just called them "concrete barriers."

The (metal) guard rails are guard rails, whether they're on the side of the road or in the middle.
To get the image I Googled "Jersey Barriers". (800,000 hits)

When I Google "concrete barriers" I get more hits (1,500,000+) but it is a more inclusive term. I see images of concrete bollards (posts), and tall wall barriers. While I would say that "concrete barriers" is correct it is far more inclusive. If you want to limit the discussion to center of the road barriers in concrete, then "Jersey Barriers" is a term with greater specificity.
I know what you guys mean by concrete barriers, I googled it, but I'm talking about metal barriers like the ones in this picture:

http://up.iranblog.com/images/eqyzevhdailejau4ky87.jpg

These are also used to prevent pedestrians from crossing the street.

I googled median fence and I got a few hits, but not a lot. and guard rail is something else.
So there is no specific term to refer to this?
I have not seen that in any cities I have been to so I don't know of a name for it. I have seen something similar in one place that was meant to keep people from walking from the road onto a train track, but I don't have a name for it.
Guard rails (in the USA) are designed to be bumper height. They are designed so as to prevent head on collisions with stationary objects.

What you have shown (and a picture is worth 1,000 words) is a pedestrian barrier. It is designed to prevent pedestrian crossings except at designated areas. Guard rails are easily stepped over and even the Jersey barriers are rarely more than 2 - 3 feet high and are easily vaulted.

Your image shows a taller fence and one that does not have continuous rails at bumper height.

I would call this a pedestrian barrier.

I Googled "pedestrian barriers" and got mostly moveable versions, but some permanent ones.

See: http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T...8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=824&bih=363
I think I'd still call them guard rails.

I agree that they are "guard rails" but I think the public understanding of "guard rails" is to contain vehicles and not people.
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