08-05-2025
City to deploy new barricades to secure popular Taco Tour
The planning for Manchester's Taco Tour each year involves a lot more than restaurants stocking up on ingredients and cooking up a storm.
The Greater Manchester Chamber takes on months of logistics with support from city departments. Thursday is the big day, with the event taking over downtown from 4 to 8 p.m.
This year, new vehicle- resistant barricades aimed at keeping the crowd safe will be rolled out after the city received a Homeland Security grant. The new system is easier to set up and looks better than massive dump trucks and is more convenient for those walking around, said Ryan Cashin, fire chief and the city's emergency management director.
'What we are trying to do is make a harder perimeter around some of the larger events we have in the city, like Taco Tour and Cruising Downtown,' the chief said.
More attention has been brought to event safety across the country after a terrorist plowed down Bourbon Street in New Orleans with a truck, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more on New Year's Eve. Experts cited misplacement and an insufficient number of anti-vehicle devices around the French Quarter.
Another tragedy happened in Vancouver when a 30-year-old man drove into a festival crowd and killed 11 people late last month.
'We did have to sit down as a city, and we did insist on moving forward,' Cashin said. 'At any event when we have large amounts of people congregating, we are going to build a hard perimeter around those events.'
The equipment by Meridian Rapid Defense Group is the Archer 1200 designed to protect pedestrian areas, public events, construction zones and infrastructure from 'unauthorized vehicles,' according to Meridian's website.
'Unlike permanent bollards, it is reusable, deploys in under 10 minutes, and requires no power or permanent installation,' the website reads.
Meridian worked with both New Orleans and Vancouver for events like the Super Bowl and Vancouver Marathon.
To prepare for Taco Tour, Elm Street between Granite and Bridge streets will be closed between noon and 9 p.m. Thursday. Other side streets will also be closed, including a section of Hanover Street near the Palace Theatre.
On Wednesday, some of the bright yellow barriers were prepped and ready to set up the extensive safety perimeter.
'A lot of it will be with the barricades,' Cashin said. 'There are some places where we are still going to use heavy trucks, like dump trucks and things like that from highway.'
Cashin said the barrier came together through a partnership with the Police Department and Highway Department in putting out a request for proposals. Meridian was selected out of six total bids for the barricades, which cost $500,000, according to city documents.
The barricades were presented as a 'vital component of the city's overall security plan, which includes facilities and assets,' according to the RFP.
The city looked at security at other large events, including the Boston Marathon, which use Jersey barriers. It can be difficult to get stretchers and other emergency workers though, he said.
'The nice thing about these barricades is one, they will stop a vehicle,' Cashin said. 'But two, it still allows for pedestrian traffic to go through. And they can be moved very easily.'
Several of the Department of Public Works trucks will still be used in some areas, Cashin said.
Each barrier weighs about 700 pounds, Cashin said.
'It was really the only one on the market that allowed us the most functionality being able to stop a vehicle, but also get resources and people through,' he said.
The barricades were used on a limited basis during the St. Patrick's Parade in March, but this is the first widespread use of the new equipment.
Judi Window, owner of Diz's Downtown restaurant, is involved with many downtown events, including the planning of the Taco Tour. She is grateful for the city departments working together to keep the downtown safe.
'It is a tough world out there,' she said. 'Every little place in the world must be careful and they are working diligently to get us into the safest environment when we have all these fun events.'
The restaurant, which is part of the Downtown Collaborative, is preparing to serve up 'Dizspinaca' chicken tacos, a soft corn taco with seasoned chicken thighs, crisp lettuce and a drizzle of the restaurant's famous Dizspinaca sauce.
She hopes having the new equipment will allow the city to hold more events in the future like the Taco Tour.
The barricades were delivered to the city in February and city employees received training on how to deploy them.
Cashin called the process of acquring the new barricades a citywide effort that took several years.
'It is important to support any event that is good for the city as a whole,' he said. 'Our job is to make it as safe as possible and hopefully without anyone noticing the work that goes into it.'
Like most events, the department doesn't want those attending to be alarmed, he said. Officials just want the public to know that measures are being taken to keep them safe.
The new barriers are also less costly and will likely save the city money in the long run, he added.
'I believe they are going to go in there and know that they are secure,' Cashin said. 'We try to be as (noninvasive) as possible but make the place as safe as possible.'
