How to Keep Pedestrians Safe in Narrow Warehouse Aisles

When every inch of aisle space counts, safety often feels like a squeeze.
Forklifts, pallet trucks, and people are all competing for the same few metres, and it only takes one near-miss to show how quickly things can go wrong.

At Clarity, we work with warehouse teams across the UK who face this exact problem. You want your pedestrians protected and your operations flowing, but narrow aisles don’t give you much room to play with.

You don’t need to choose between safety and space efficiency. The right barrier system can deliver both.

In this guide, we’ll explore:

1. Why Are Narrow Aisles so Dangerous for Pedestrians in Warehouses?

2. What's Wrong With Traditional Warehouse Barriers in Tight Spaces?

3. How Polymer Barriers Improve Pedestrian Safety in Tight Warehouse Aisles

4. How to Design Safe Pedestrian Walkways When Your Warehouse is Short on Space

5. How to Improve Safety Without Disrupting Operations

Whether you’re planning a new layout or upgrading an existing site, this article will show you how to make every metre safe without slowing your operation down.

Why Are Narrow Aisles so Dangerous for Pedestrians in Warehouses?

In many warehouses, especially those optimised for storage density, walkways are tight, turning circles are smaller, and line of sight is limited. It’s a setup that can put pedestrians at serious risk.

HSE data shows that around 40% of workplace transport accidents involve people being struck by moving vehicles. In narrow aisles, that risk increases because segregation becomes harder to achieve.

Painted floor lines might mark the route, but they don’t protect it. Once they’re scuffed, faded, or ignored, pedestrians can drift into forklift zones and lose their safe pathway entirely. And traditional steel barriers, while strong, often eat up precious space and present a trip hazard for pedestrians due to their bulky anchor points.

PAS 13 (the code of practice for safety barriers used in traffic management within workplace environments) makes it clear: physical segregation is the most reliable form of pedestrian protection. But to achieve that in narrow aisles, you need barriers that work with your space, not against it.

What's Wrong With Traditional Warehouse Barriers in Tight Spaces?

Let’s look at why some common approaches don’t hold up in confined environments:

•  Steel barriers are rigid, heavy, and wide-based. Once installed, they leave little flexibility for layout changes. And when they’re hit, they deform, often needing replacement or repair, which adds downtime and cost.
  
• Painted or taped lines offer zero impact protection. They might look neat at first, but they wear fast and quickly lose visibility, especially in high-traffic areas. 
• Static systems are difficult to reconfigure. When your operations change, your barrier system should be able to move with you. 

Space efficiency doesn’t mean cutting corners on safety. It means finding solutions that do more within less space.

📖 Read more on how steel barriers and painted walkways fall short: The Expensive Truth About Cheap Warehouse Segregation

How Polymer Barriers Improve Pedestrian Safety in Tight Warehouse Aisles

Polymer barriers are purpose-designed to solve this challenge.
Our polymer barrier systems combine flexibility, strength, and slim-profile engineering to give you complete pedestrian protection without wasting valuable aisle width.

Here’s how they outperform traditional systems:

• Compact footprint – Polymer barriers take up less physical space than steel alternatives while maintaining PAS 13-rated impact resistance.
• Energy absorption – On impact, the polymer flexes to absorb and dissipate energy, protecting the floor, vehicle, and barrier from damage.
• Modular design – Barriers can be installed around racking, conveyors, or awkward corners without interrupting operations.

How to Design Safe Pedestrian Walkways When Your Warehouse is Short on Space

In a compact warehouse, safety isn’t about trying to find space for more barriers – it’s about adding smarter ones.

Combine physical and visual segregation

LED Projected Floor Markings are one of the simplest ways to enhance visibility without taking up any space at all. These systems project bright, high-contrast walkways directly onto the floor, guiding pedestrians and forklift drivers alike, even in dimly lit environments.

Used alongside polymer barriers, they create a complete safety ecosystem: physical protection where needed, and visual guidance everywhere else.

Match your barrier type to your risk area

• Pedestrian barriers are ideal for narrow routes beside racking or walls.
• Pedestrian + traffic combination systems work best where forklifts and people cross paths.
• Guard rails prevent FLTs from damaging walls.

Follow PAS 13 design principles

• Keep pedestrians and vehicles physically separated.
• Provide visual cues using colour, contrast, or lighting.
• Maintain minimum clearance widths (typically 1 metre for pedestrian walkways).

When planned properly, even a high-density warehouse can meet legal and best practice requirements without sacrificing flow or capacity.

How to Improve Safety Without Disrupting Operations

The biggest misconception about improving warehouse segregation? That it requires a full redesign.

Modern modular systems make upgrades fast and non-disruptive. Polymer barriers are lightweight and can often be installed during live operations. No hot works, no repainting, no downtime.

LED projected markings can be fitted above active walkways and switched on instantly. Because nothing physically touches the floor, they’re ideal for leased warehouses or changing layouts.

“It’s not about adding more barriers, it’s about adding smarter ones that fit your space.”

That mindset shift is what turns reactive safety fixes into long-term, sustainable protection.

How to Choose the Best Pedestrian Safety Barrier for Narrow Aisles

When comparing products, always check the tested impact rating in joules, the installation footprint, and whether the system can be easily adjusted as your warehouse evolves.

Make Every Metre Safe

Even in the tightest spaces, there’s always room for safety.
Narrow aisles shouldn’t mean narrow margins for error.

By combining slim-profile polymer barriers with smart visual systems like LED projected markings, you can create safer walkways, protect your people, and keep your operations compliant, all without giving up valuable floor space.

We specialise in helping UK facilities find the right balance between protection and practicality.

Book an on-site assessment today, and we’ll help you design a pedestrian segregation plan that fits your space, your workflow, and your budget.