Following a deadly New Year's Day street party tragedy in New Orleans, Texas officials are raising concerns about similar incidents occurring in their state. The tragedy has prompted discussions about implementing stricter safety measures, particularly physical barriers, at public events and vulnerable locations.
The New Year's Day tragedy in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people at a street party has some local and state officials here in Texas wondering if it could happen here. State leaders have taken action against this kind of threat before. Downtown traffic in Austin up Congress Avenue is stopped at the gates of the State Capitol. But there was a time that most traffic including buses were allowed to circulate around the capitol building and continue up through the capitol complex.
But after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the 9-11 attacks in 2001, state leaders approved putting in retractable steel columns to close off the capitol grounds. Now the New Year's Day deaths in New Orleans are reminding us about a similar horror here in Austin. In 2014, four people were killed and dozens injured by a drunk driver who ignored a street barricade and plowed into a South by Southwest Festival Street party. That tragedy prompted the City of Austin to replace simple roadblock signs with sturdier physical barriers. And fans of the street parties are hoping for more action this year to prevent a repeat of New Year's Day in New Orleans.Safety advocates have already had some success keeping wayward drivers and their cars from hurting others. In Austin, the city council just recently amended the land development code to require safety barriers to make entrances around hospitals safer from cars entering their space. They took the action after one car came flying into the emergency room at Saint David North. A state lawmaker from Dallas is already proposing similar legislation statewide. And with this issue top of mind going into the new legislative session that begins January 14, someone is bound to propose erecting bollards or other physical barriers in other places where a car or truck could pose a public safety threat. With that said, Austin Police tell us there are no known threats to the city at this tim
SAFETY TRAFFIC CRIMINAL SECURITY PUBLIC EVENTS
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