INGLEWOD, CA, USA, March 1, 2024 - Meridian Rapid Defense Group was side by side with the City of Inglewood this past weekend guaranteeing the safety of the thousands of people attending the “Celebration of Black History Month” street fair.
To help create a safe and enjoyable space for everyone, 80 Meridian Archer mobile barriers were placed at every intersection along the streets where the Family Fair took place. That created a pedestrian plaza allowing for stalls, food trucks and two working stages to be set up inside the secure zone.
Eric Alms, Meridian President said; “You’d be surprised at how much planning goes on before the event to ensure it goes off without a hitch. Our barriers, being SAFETY Actcertified by the Department of Homeland Security, also come with a Meridian certified deployment plan. It ensures that if there is a threat from a vehicle getting into a designated pedestrian zone our barriers will stop that from happening.”
Lee A. Denmon, Parks and Recreations Commissioner said, “I think these barriers are good because they’re very easy to move. The old concrete ones were stationary, and we couldn’t move them easily to where we wanted them. These Archer barriers, we just put them out quickly whenever we have an event, and they make sure that the event is safe. I thank the city for spending a little money so that people coming to our events are safe.”
Inglewood is like many cities around the U.S. which have purchased Archer mobile barriers to stop vehicles form penetrating protected spaces, whether on purpose or by accident. In this case because of the size of the event, Meridian brought in extra barriers through a rental program to supplement those already owned by teh City of Inglewood.
The decision by the city to continue to go the extra mile to secure these events brought in praise from those attending.
Seimone Loupe, a stall holder specializing in African imports said, “I know that there are a lot of events where there’s no safety and these barriers make me feel like there’s no way now that a car can ram through. I know in other cities there have been several situations where people get injured, like a truck driving through and lives taken unnecessarily. So, I’m very happy these barriers are here.”
The ease of deployment is a big attraction for event organizers. Each barrier, although being 700 lbs. of U.S. made steel, is very easy to move because of its unique design. The mobile barriers also take the place of the unsightly long concrete barriers so often used in the past.
Inglewood Councilor Henry Brown said, “It is so meaningful to have these barriers to stop people from driving through and injuring people. Mayor Butts had a vision, and a lot of times people didn’t see the vision. They said, ‘Why are you putting up these barriers?’ Now every day you see on the news these tragedies happening. We want all our residents to be safe and the barriers do that.”
Meridian Rapid Defense Group has also become the go-to organization for securing big events such as the Formula One Grand Prix in Las Vegas, the Orlando marathon and the NFL Super Bowl.
Meridian Archer 1200 Barriers are “SAFETY Act Certified” by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) providing the ultimate standard in keeping people, communities and places safer. For more information about Meridian Rapid Defense Group and the Archer 1200 vehicle barrier visit www.meridian-barrier.com
