Mobile City Councilmembers approved a resolution on Tuesday, approving a $167,371 purchase order with Delta Scientific Corp. for portable bollard arrest systems to enhance security at Mardi Gras parades.
The action was taken as a result of what happened on Bourbon Street in New Orleans during the early hours of New Year’s celebrations when 14 people were killed as a result of a man driving a truck through a crowd of celebrants.
“We’re going to take several steps to improve security,” said Public Safety Director Rob Lasky. The bollards we talked about purchasing are part of the exterior so we can further restrict traffic from going down streets, especially with citizens watching the Mardi Gras parades. It’s a shame that we have to take these steps, but with the things that are happening in our country, they have to be done.”
Eighteen barricades have been purchased, with 12 of them due to arrive just before the first Mardi Gras parades, along with a jack to move them. Up to five of the bollards can be linked together with a cable system and placed on a road’s surface to create immediate protection for a span of 20 feet.
Certified testing shows that a portable bollard will stop and disable a 15,000-lb. vehicle traveling at 30 mph. In addition, six barricades covering one lane will be borrowed from the city of Tuscaloosa. These can be raised and lowered, and traffic can drive over them at low speeds.
The bollards will be used every year, and the city is exploring purchasing more at a later date. They will be used for Mardi Gras and other events.
Tuesday’s item was originally a first read, which meant it would have come to a vote next week, but because of time restraints, it was voted on during Tuesday’s meeting. It was one of several steps taken to improve security during Mardi Gras.
“One of the issues that came about was we needed the 12 before the parades, so the city council decided to vote this week,” Lasky said. “We wanted some additional hardening in the streets in preparation for Mardi Gras. We wanted to get the bollards in preparation for the parades. This is part of our overall plan to harden the outskirts of the perimeter of the Mardi Gras parades and the celebrations.”
Other steps will include strategically placing vehicles to prevent access, such as those from Public Works. That would include dump trucks, which, according to Lasky, would be parked in unusual ways to block roads and entrances.
Lasky said it was too early to discuss public information about entrance and exit routes as the city was still developing a plan.
“We have an internal deadline that we’re going to get together,” he said.
Lasky also declined to disclose the location where the bollards will be placed but said that the bollards borrowed from Tuscaloosa will be used in addition to the ones purchased. He said that every opportunity to find a permanent solution, including available technology to make the routes safer, will be explored.
Courtesy of Call News.
