Portable barriers at play for Austin pedestrian safety

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Days after a truck rammed through a Bourbon Street crowd, killing 14 and injuring nearly 60, portable vehicle-stopping barriers were deployed in New Orleans. Those same 700-pound mobile steel barriers will be used in Austin as well, according to police and the company that makes them. The barriers could be used downtown and at other critical sites, including utilities, like Austin Energy -- all part of a plan the city said was in the works before the New Year's Day terror attack.

"Certainly the New Orleans incident has escalated the need," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at Wednesday's Downtown Commission meeting. "And, I think it has just quite clearly shown how these things can happen and how they can help, the Meridian barricades, could help."

Davis said these barriers are "needed" and told the commission the city "found those funds" to purchase them.

"And, I'm also happy to report, that I believe the city is also looking at purchasing some for not just APD, but other areas," she said. "Whether it's Austin Energy, or public services."

Because the funding has already been secured, the Downtown Commission tabled its vote Wednesday to recommend them to the city council. The security move is backed by the Downtown Austin Alliance, a group whose members include downtown business owners and residents.

"Public safety is a top priority of the Downtown Austin Alliance, and keep pedestrians safe in our nighttime entertainment districts is critically important to downtown's vibrancy," the group said in a statement. "Over the past decade, Austin has had several unfortunate incidents where motorists have driven through streets blocked to motorists that have resulted in pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Meridian Barricades are proven to be effective at preventing vehicles from entering restricted roadways and providing substantial protection for pedestrians."

The group said it supported the "purchase and immediate use" to "ensure public safety downtown."

'City has moved expeditiously'

The maker of the barriers, California-based Meridian Rapid Defense Group, told KXAN Austin is "finalizing" a deal to purchase enough of its "strongest mobile barriers" -- the Archer 1200 -- to cover 15 blocks worth. Each barrier costs around $6,500, the company said, noting the price can be lower when ordering in bulk. Austin has previously rented the barriers on a smaller scale for the past few years.

"I think the city has moved expeditiously to put an order in based on what has happened in New Orleans, which is tragic beyond belief," said Meridian CEO Peter Whitford.

While Whitford declined to give details of the contract with the city, he said the deal is for enough barriers "to do the work that they have tried to do to protect communities, people and places." The company has posted crash-test videos online showing how effective its barriers can be at slowing down, and ultimately stopping, a speeding vehicle.

"Those devices are going to be purchased with the intent of keeping some of our soft targets safe in any kind of pedestrian area," APD Lt. Christopher Juusola told the Downtown Commission.

KXAN asked APD how many Meridian barriers the city is buying, where they will be placed and how much this is going to cost. We did not immediately hear back and will update this article if that changes.

Reopening Sixth Street

The city of Austin is aiming to open Sixth Street to vehicle traffic this weekend and protect pedestrians along that busy stretch. Crews have been installing fencing to give people wider walkways and separate them from the street. Rubber bumpers are also already up in some places and some street parking will no longer be offered.

On Thursday, KXAN spotted two Meridian barriers in the area. APD said it is removing them from Sixth Street because of the new traffic flow but plan to use them for big crowds, festivals and events "to protect large groups."

Austin City Council Member Zo Qadri, who has expressed interest in bollards for the downtown entertainment district, said Sixth Street is "long overdue for a revitalization and reinvestment."

Qadri has had talks with staff regarding bollards -- vertical steel posts designed to stop a speeding vehicle -- and Meridian barriers for pedestrian safety. His office told KXAN they are being explored "not just downtown, but any projects where they might make sense." A spokesperson said Qadri is "definitely not done with safety measures" for Sixth Street.

"These changes implemented ... are just one step of many as part of a comprehensive approach with the final goal to reinvigorate 6th Street," Qadri said in a statement. "I am committed to making this iconic entertainment district safer, more accessible, and vibrant in both day and night."

Fuentes testifies before Congress

The cost for protective barriers could have been offset through federal grants. In 2021, Congress authorized $25 million over five years for local governments to install bollards “to prevent pedestrian injuries and acts of terrorism." But KXAN found lawmakers have yet to actually fund that provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“I think the issue of safety, and the need for barriers to protect pedestrians is serious enough, that we should revisit the act and the issue and see if there are other things that can be done,” Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, told KXAN two days after the New Orleans attack.

This week, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes testified at a Congressional hearing about the need to reauthorize the IIJA, which she called a "game changer" for cities when it comes to infrastructure investments. She was not asked about bollards and didn't bring the issue up directly.

"There's a lot we can do on hardening our infrastructure, our physical infrastructure," Fuentes told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

KXAN contacted the committee chair along with members representing Texas districts to ask if they feel the IIJA should fund bollard grants. We did not hear back and will update this article if that changes.

While not discussed during the nearly five-hour hearing, bollards are a topic Fuentes knows well. She co-sponsored Austin's recently-passed law requiring crash-rated bollards at all new hospitals. In May, she said the city needed "policies updated" regarding their use at high-traffic locations.

It was a direct response to a KXAN investigation into a deadly crash at St. David's North Austin Medical Center last year -- one of more than 400 similar incidents we found nationwide over the past decade.

Many of those sites lacked bollards.