Months before the deadly vehicle attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, city engineers conducted scenarios for how an attacker could enter Bourbon Street in a crew-cab Ford F-150. The analysis showed that such a pickup could enter the crowded tourist strip at speeds ranging from 12 to 70 mph. However, city officials are now installing new street barriers that can only withstand 10-mph impacts, according to city-contracted engineering analysis.
The new barriers, known as “bollards,” had not been installed on Bourbon Street on New Year’s, but they are planned to be completed by the Feb. 9 NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans. The system, as per the reviewed documents, will not be able to prevent vehicle attacks at moderate-to-high speeds. The city prioritized ease of operation over crashworthiness, which has been a chronic issue in operating the older bollard system.
Unlike some pedestrian-only zones, Bourbon Street is open to regular vehicle traffic for much of the day, requiring city officials to block parts of it off from surrounding streets each evening. However, neither barrier system would have prevented the deadly attack on New Year’s Day. The attack suspect exploited vulnerabilities in the security planning by driving his vehicle through an eight-foot-wide sidewalk between a drugstore wall and a police vehicle to carry out the attack.
New Orleans officials have faced scrutiny over whether citizens were left vulnerable as crews were removing old bollards and installing new ones after the attack. The attack scenarios were modeled based on a vehicle entering Bourbon Street on the roadway, not the sidewalk. City officials have emphasized the difficulty of protecting against vehicle attacks while preserving access for routine vehicle and pedestrian traffic, including accessible sidewalks for people with disabilities.
City officials selected a bollard system rated for 10-mph impacts to replace the failing system of street barriers to protect against vehicle attacks. The chosen system, by a company called 1-800-Bollards Inc, can stop a 5,000-pound vehicle traveling at 10 mph and would still slow or significantly damage a vehicle at higher speeds. This decision was made to prioritize ease of operation and maintenance over crash safety ratings.
The city initially installed a bollard system following pressure in 2017 from federal officials to protect Bourbon Street after a string of vehicle attacks globally. However, the old system proved problematic due to inoperability caused by litter jamming the tracks and the mechanism submerged in “Bourbon Street juice.” The new system was chosen for its lightweight stainless-steel posts that can be easily installed and removed daily by a single city staffer, weighing 44 pounds each. The system was chosen despite not meeting the highest crash rating standards due to the need for daily movement of the bollards.
