Once again, a terror attack has happened in the United States involving a deranged individual driving a vehicle into a pedestrian-friendly, non-vehicle area and taking the lives of several innocent human beings. This time, it took place in lower Manhattan, New York, making it the second vehicular attack on the city this year and the deadliest attack on the city since September 11th, 2001.
Photo Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Like we said after the previous attack in Times Square, “Enough is Enough”.
According to Fast Company’s Eillie Anzilotti, this latest attack is far from the first on New York City cyclists and the Greenway:
“In 2016, 144 pedestrians and 18 cyclists in New York died after being struck by cars (across America, auto accidents kill as many people as guns every year)….On December 1, 2006, the 22-year-old cyclist Eric Ng was riding north along the West Side Highway bike path when a drunk driver careening at 50 mph down not the highway, but the bike path, struck and killed him just several blocks north of where the tragedy of October 31 occurred. Earlier in 2006, another cyclist was also struck and killed by a car on the Greenway, many blocks north, where it intersects with 38th Street.”
But this issue is far from a New York problem.
According to CNN, there have already been 7 car-ramming terror attacks in 2017 alone, which have claimed the lives of 39 people and have injured at least 200 others. And that doesn’t include the other vehicular attacks and accidents on pedestrian-friendly areas and cyclists.
While it may seem like an epidemic without a cure, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s a way to fix this issue, and Fast Company’s Anzilotti states it perfectly:
“Safety infrastructure like metal bollards–short metal posts designed to act as barriers against cars–are crucial and necessary, and their absence in places like the West Side Highway is incredibly dangerous.”
New York Magazine’s Justin Davidson has the same idea for preventative measures, as well:
“We can’t crazy-proof all of New York, but the city could do a far more thorough job of safeguarding places where cyclists and pedestrians cluster. The solution is a thin steel bollard, strategically placed and quickly unscrewed if necessary.”
And we couldn’t agree more. Steel pipe bollards will help protect lives each and every day by both stopping/slowing down vehicles and deterring them all together by just being installed. With simple installation processes in place, steel pipe bollards need to become a requirement (not a recommendation) for any and every public bike and pedestrian-friendly path in the country.
Ideal Shield’s 6″ Cinco Decorative Bollard Covers at the Dequindre Cut bike and running path in Detroit
Ideal Shield’s Removable Locking Bollard used to protect The Belt alley way in downtown Detroit
For more information on steel pipe bollards and the different styles of bollards available for bike paths, sidewalks, and any other pedestrian-friendly area, contact Ideal Shield today at 866-825-8259. Our schedule 40 and schedule 80 steel pipe bollards are available as permanent bollards, base plate bollards, removable bollards, and flexible bollard options, allowing cities and businesses versatility with the protective barriers.