Barricades were supposed to keep Bourbon Street revelers safe. Here’s why they didn’t

Witnesses to the New Year’s truck-ramming in New Orleans this week say barriers that could have prevented the suspect from driving down Bourbon Street were not deployed, …

The city of New Orleans appears to have had multiple methods on hand to protect pedestrians on Bourbon Street, but none of them were able to stop a man inspired by ISIS from using a pickup truck to ram into pedestrians celebrating the new year. In the two days since the attack that killed at least 14 and injured more, officials have faced numerous questions about barricades and bollards –– different kinds of barriers that could have been positioned to block off Bourbon Street from vehicles –– and why they proved ineffective early Wednesday morning. “This particular terrorist drove around, onto the sidewalk, and got around the hard target,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at a news conference Wednesday. “We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there,” she said, “and they still got around.” “We did indeed have a plan,” Kirkpatrick added, “but the terrorist defeated it.” The barricades in question –– portable steel structures that can either lay flat or be raised depending on traffic –– seemed to stand out in the memories of several witnesses to the attack.