Ring of Steel

[Grandad]

The centre of my home city, Canterbury, is very small and little over a quarter of a mile across. So for visitors, who come in their thousands, it is easy to walk around and the centre is now entirely pedestrianised from 10am each day.
I am on the local Councils mailing list and get notification of where the Council will be spending our money.
I received an email yesterday advising that the Council had approved an expenditure of £800,000 to install 108 steel bollards across all 18 entry points to the city centre. Some of these would be permanent with pedestrian entry only and 8 locations would have retractable bollards controlled from the Councils central control.
I applaud this expenditure and with experiences around the world where a vehicle has been used as a terrorist weapon, I think our visitors, who bring much revenue to the city, can feel safer and protected.
Anyone else got similar preventive actions being taken in your towns and cities?

Just imagine the carnage if some lunatic went amok with a vehicle in the main street

20030816 Looking North.JPG

[Horus]

Security or not its still a great idea to pedestrianise city centres, especially the smaller and more prettier ones like Canterbury.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Our City Center, as of last year, when our Council allowed a 400+ person homeless tent city to develop has deteriorated into a criminal drug infested hole. Haven't been downtown myself in well over a year and it is no longer safe. Many businesses have closed as they can't absorb or control the theft (here a shop owner is not allowed to touch a thief on threat of being charged with assault so all they can do as people carry out basically whatever they want is watch). Rather sad as our downtown has a beautiful water front park with sculptures and statues (many of which have been stolen or vandalized). Old Council 90% voted out along with the Mayor and now the new Council has announced they can't help or protect us citizens.

However "YES" I do believe if you can cordon off areas that tourists frequent it is a much better idea in light of how terrorists operate. If the area is really that small am sure it would be fairly easy to do especially if a few of the entrances and exits are operator controlled.

In Puerto Vallarta Mexico they have decorative concrete fixtures that allows everybody to walk easily down the Malecon and that is their tourist bread and butter so to speak. Not too sure how long these have been in place but big vehicles can't get down the huge waterfront sidewalk.

[Grandad]

Of course you can't protect against every determined terrorist. Our new barriers will only give protection to pedestrians from vehicle attack. They would NOT however offer any protection against a pedestrian bomber as was shown in the Sri Lanka bombings when a bomber simply walked through the crowd with a backpack full of explosives and metal.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Where there's a will there is way but given the latest tactic (vehicles being run through people) there should be artistic ways to stop a terrorist with a truck/vehicle from rampaging through crowds. Sounds like your Council is ahead of the curve in terms of planning