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A Vancouver city spokeswoman said protecting road users is a top priority for street and transportation staff, and an important factor in planning. Public plazas are designed to stop unintended vehicle access by using bollards, trees and furniture to slow or block them.

“It’s important to note, however, that we design for regular street usage and to prevent unintended incidents,” she said. “Extreme and unusual events such as the tragic incident in (New York on Tuesday) cannot be perfectly designed against.”

Const. Jason Doucette, of the Vancouver Police Department, said it would be counterproductive for Vancouver police to publicly discuss operational plans to stop vehicular attacks against crowds.

But if any of the hundreds of protests, demonstrations and public events the department works each year requires additional attention, police are prepared and can adjust resources as needed, he said.

“Our goal is to keep Vancouver a safe place to live, work and visit, and we want our residents to be able to rest well at night,” he said.

Doucette said analysts within the department are in constant communication with local and global intelligence and security experts. They take distant attacks into consideration when making local plans and preparations for public gatherings, augmenting their strategies based on what they learn.

“Each event stands on its own and in preparation we look to the best, most-efficient ways to keep people safe,” Doucette said.

“And if there’s no through traffic anyway, and a vehicle barrier might be useful, then we would use it. But we don’t necessarily use it at every event, it’s what’s appropriate through our assessments.

Doucette stressed the importance of civilians reporting any suspicious activity to police so that they can investigate.

“We can’t do anything about it unless we know,” he said.

neagland@postmedia.com

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