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New Orleans attack spurs discussion about pedestrian safety in Orlando

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Published  January 2, 2025 5:52pm EST
Orlando
FOX 35 Orlando

New Orleans attack spurs discussion about pedestrian safety

While the FBI investigates what it is calling a terrorist attack in New Orleans, city leaders all over the U.S. are considering crowd safety, including discussion over whether one particular type of protection might have made a difference in preventing this tragedy: bollards.

The Brief

    • The FBI investigates a terrorist attack in New Orleans, sparking national discussions on crowd safety and protective measures like bollards.
    • Experts highlight bollards as effective, affordable barriers that prevent vehicle access and enhance public safety during large events.
    • Cities like Orlando emphasize tailored security plans, including barricades and bollards, to adapt to evolving threats and ensure community protection.

ORLANDO, Fla. - While the FBI investigates what it’s calling a terrorist attack in New Orleans, city leaders all over the U.S. are considering crowd safety. 

And there’s discussion over whether one particular type of protection might have made a difference in preventing this tragedy: bollards.

The city of New Orleans does have bollards installed to block off roads meant for pedestrian usage, but they were down at the time of the attack while the city worked on renovations ahead of the Super Bowl.

"They're a relatively simple concept," said AJ DeMong, a project manager at Arch Florida Fabrication."And, honestly, in the grand scheme of things, fairly inexpensive."

DeMong also used to work in counterterrorism for the U.S. Marine Corps, where he saw bollards used to protect buildings from vehicle-borne IEDs.

He says typically, they’re four or six-inch-coated steel pipes, embedded one to two feet in the ground. Some are even filled with concrete.

"You can hit a car, move the vehicle, someone will move, but those bollards will not," said DeMong. "They will completely tear the suspension right out from underneath an 18-wheeler."

Bollards are more common than you might realize. If you keep an eye out, you’ll see them along streets, sidewalks and storefronts wherever you go.

Some are permanent, and some are retractable. The city of Orlando has them outside buildings such as the courthouse, the Kia Center and Camping World Stadium.

Bollards may be a resourceful type of protection when it comes to crowd safety.

For big events, Orlando District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose says the city also makes plans to use regular barricades to direct traffic, and officers use their cars to block off roadways.

"We're going to have to make adjustments," the city told FOX 35. "And that's what we're here for, to make sure that we make the right adjustments to keep everyone safe. City departments work together, both internally and with external government and community partners, to address public safety needs and make adjustments as necessary. We assess the specific needs of each event and implement various types of barricades to mitigate any roadway safety impacts to ensure the protection of our community."

Those assessments aren’t just for large events such as EDC, bowl games and holidays.

The city has to plan for safety on regular rowdy weekends. Rose says those conversations are constantly happening.

"And I don't think they're going to ever stop, because things change every time you turn around," she said.

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"As with any large-scale event, the safety and security of everyone remains the Orlando Police Department's top priority," the Orlando Police Department told FOX 35. "While we don't discuss specific security measures, we always plan and staff each event appropriately to provide proper public safety and assess the needs of the event to make any necessary security modifications. The Orlando Police Department wants to remind our community to always call 911 or flag down an officer working the event if they see anything suspicious. Whether security measures are visible or not, officers are always working on the streets and behind the scenes to ensure the safety of our city."

DeMong says bollards, like other safety measures, can be tailored to the amount of protection you’re seeking.

"Unfortunately, when bad people have, you know, bad intentions, they're going to do bad things," he said. "The likelihood of this happening again is unfortunate. But these are things that we need to look at. So, hopefully people will start looking at, ‘Hey, can we use bollards in this situation?’ and make them think more about that, so we can prevent this in the future."

In Orlando, the push right now is to get people to stay on the sidewalks.

They’re trying to phase the street closures out gradually, so people get used to being on the sidewalks again first before they let cars back on the road.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Orlando Police Department, the city of Orlando and Arch Florida Fabrication.

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