OVIEDO, Fla. – The city of Oviedo is exploring a plan to increase safety at outdoor events.
At a meeting on Monday, council members will vote to approve funding for modular vehicle barriers.
The 72-unit system would be manufactured by Advanced Security Technologies and has the capability of closing up to 10 lanes of traffic.
The barriers are a long-time request of the Oviedo Police Department and are able to stop a 16,500-pound vehicle.
“People using vehicles in ways that could harm people,” Mayor Megan Sladek said. “It makes some sense to just be proactive and say ‘We’re going to secure this perimeter.’”
Sladek said the Oviedo Police Foundation agreed to pay $25,000 toward the barrier system, although the city would still be responsible for contributing $168,818.
Jim Marks is a homeowner in Oviedo and had concerns about the city overspending taxpayer money on the project.
“I think if the old way of doing things worked, they should just continue to do it that way,” Marks said.
Currently, Oviedo borrows barricades from other jurisdictions or uses city-owned vehicles to block streets during outdoor events.
According to the city, the current method is labor-intensive and often requires specially trained staff depending on the type of equipment used.
Sladek said the use of city-owned vehicles could also interfere with response to emergencies.
“When we use public safety vehicles to block traffic, if they have to get out of there quickly and the crowd is milling about really close to the edge of the festival, it creates some challenges getting out quickly,” Sladek said.
The Oviedo City Council will vote on the purchase of the modular vehicle barrier system during a meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m.