New Orleans' Bourbon Street should be closed to traffic after deadly truck attack, security report recommends
A security review commissioned in the wake of the deadly
New Year's Day terror attack on Bourbon Street
recommended in a report closing off a majority of the historic corridor to traffic and turning it into a permanent pedestrian zone.
The report obtained by
CBS affiliate WWL-TV
recommends making approximately eight blocks along Bourbon Street a pedestrian zone, from Canal to Dumaine Street.
"Teneo Risk remains firm that restructuring Bourbon Street as a permanent pedestrian plaza is the safest and most secure way to mitigate against a future vehicle ramming attack on Bourbon Street and the immediate cross street corners feeding into Bourbon Street," said the report from
former New York City Police Chief Bill Bratton
and his global consulting firm Teneo.
The recommendation is likely to face pushback as New Orleans business owners and residents opposed a similar idea last month, according to WWL-TV.
Teneo's security report is only a recommendation and city officials will make the final decision on future safety precautions.
"Ultimately, it is up to the city and the community to determine its risk tolerance for a solution and configuration that deviates from our recommendation," the report states.
It also recommends deploying individual police officers along more blocks of parade routes, increasing the use of barricades, drone surveillance and video surveillance, as well as removing all trash containers from the parade route to prevent potential placement of bombs.
The report was commissioned after the
deadly New Year's Day terror attack
on Bourbon Street when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers.
Weapons and two potential improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were located in the vehicle, authorities said. FBI bomb technicians also found two functional IEDs in coolers in the area. The suspect was seen placing the devices in surveillance video footage, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said. Both devices were rendered safe, and two other items were determined to not be IEDs, he said.
At least 14 people were killed before the attacker died in a shootout with police. Dozens of others were injured in the attack.
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