ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — St. Augustine Police are getting ready to deploy something to keep people from using vehicles as weapons.

This, sparked by the case in New Orleans on New Year’s when someone drove a pickup truck into a crowd, killing and hurting people.

“As many are aware, St. Augustine is a wonderful city known for its numerous events, attracting tourists and hosting various festivals,” remarked Assistant Police Chief Anthony Cuthbert of St. Augustine. He noted that in certain instances, “pedestrian traffic can be extremely heavy” in the city.

The Fourth of July is the single busiest day in St. Augustine, with crowds packing the downtown area. 

This year, the police department plans to install sturdy, metal barriers throughout downtown St. Augustine as a precautionary measure. City officials aim to prevent incidents similar to those that occurred on New Year’s in New Orleans.

“We’ve observed instances where vehicles have been used as weapons,” City Manager David Birchim explained to First Coast News. “Our goal is to safeguard our pedestrian zone—specifically St. George Street—from potential threats posed by vehicles entering from side streets. We want to avoid situations akin to those on Bourbon Street, where vehicles have been used maliciously on St. George Street to harm individuals.”

Posted at intersections with side streets on St. George Street, there are wooden posts and concrete stanchions to keep cars out, but “they won’t stop a vehicle,” Cuthbert noted. “So if somebody had the malicious intent of going down St. George Street to do harm, they could probably do it. But these Meridian barricades will keep them from doing that,” he said.

He says these barricades can truly stop vehicles. 

“They weigh about 800 pounds. They can stop 15,000-pound vehicles from traveling through them,” Cuthbert said. 

Other cities have started to use them as well. There are several in Jacksonville around the Veterans Memorial Arena.

Cuthbert says St. Augustine plans to rent the vehicle barrier barricades first for July 4th, see how they work and then use them again for Nights of Lights crowds during the holidays.