Brampton eyes anti-truck ramming barriers after Toronto attack

The City of Brampton is looking at erecting concrete barriers in the downtown area to prevent deadly truck-ramming attacks like the one in Toronto Monday.“Our staff is looking it that. We do have to prepare with the world we live in, especially a big city like Brampton.As we increase our population. Certainly we have to be prepared,” Councillor Martin Medeiros told Peel Weekly News. “Toronto is on all our minds and that’s a consideration that I think we have to reassess.”The security issue came up at a workshop attended by councillors in the wake of the murderous, terrorstyle truck ramming attack at the Yonge and Finch area in North York.The attack killed at least ten people and sent 15 others to hospital. It bore similarities to terror attacks in London, Nice, Berlin and New York.Medeiros, the councillor for Wards 3 and 4 said the Toronto attack may bring about a stepped up timetable for security measures in the downtown core.Continued from Pg 1 “As we’re preparing the downtown imagination project, that’s a couple of years down the road, we have to implement some form of measures right now especially as we come up to the festival season.”The downtown area of Brampton is a magnet for tens of thousands of people attending events in the Flower City, especially as the weather improves.The concern is that such events could also attract the attention of those looking to kill people and cause destruction.Ward 3 and 4 Councillor Jeff Bowman says the protective barrier issue is an important one for Brampton, even just for special events."That is the exact question I asked about the new open spaces being designed to encourage people to gather near Garden Square. I asked if in light of yesterday's event in Toronto if pedestrian safety in the form of removable bol-lards or something else was being considered. The response was yes, but that staff would get back to us with plans. This would only be used during special events when larger numbers of people are in attendance,” Bowman said.Staff is considering available options including measures taken in Europe where concrete barriers have been erected.“I would imagine they’d go on the periphery of the downtown.I’m not sure what form; I’ll wait for staff to propose what security measures we could take. Certainly we do have to have that part of our plan, unfortunately. That’s the world we live in now,”Medeiros said.After the Berlin attacks, German authorities erected concrete barriers in the city of Hamburg, but crash tests on those found the 2.5 tonne concrete blocks ineffective in stopping large vehicles. The barriers may prove more effective against the type of van used in the Toronto attack.“There are these type of barriers that pop up that you could apply,” Medeiros said."There are different sorts of things you could use and add to it. Especially around the downtown re-imagination project, one of the considerations is, from a security perspective, especially when you have large events, festivals as we’re planning downtown, you have to have the type of measures and capabilities and planning that goes into it in case there’s some form of security risk.”The attack in Toronto is already weighing on budget considerations and plans for infrastructure and security in Peel Region.“When I think of all the times I’ve been in that part of Yonge and Finch and other areas of the city, and you put yourself into it. God forbid it’s a member of your own family or friends but that’s part of the world we live in. Unfortunately you’ve got to be cautious and cognizant of your surroundings,” Medeiros said.