AUSTIN’S SXSW PROTECTED BY MERIDIAN ARCHER BARRIERS

SXSW Street Closure

Archer Rapid Gate Closing the Street Down

PREVIOUS CAR RAMMING DEATHS RESULT IN IMPROVED SECURE PEDESTRIAN ZONES

We are using the Meridian barriers in many areas, so people should feel very secure because a lot of planning has gone into this. The logistics of what is happening is quite amazing.”

— Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, March 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A major overhaul of pedestrian safety at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) resulted in Meridian Rapid Defense Group (“Meridian”) being invited to create secure zones around the dozens of events that took place over a two week period.

Austin police chief Lisa Davis said, “We are using the Meridian barriers in many areas, so people should feel very secure because a lot of planning has gone into this. The logistics of what is happening is quite amazing.”

The mobility of the more than 170 Archer 1200 Barriers at the festival made them a natural fit for Austin where there were 15 locations where multi-day closings took place, morning and night, all carried out by Meridian’s fully certified deployment teams.

“Because the barriers could be wheeled in by one person and set up quickly” said Meridian CEO Peter Whitford “each location was locked down in a matter of minutes. Then when the event was over, they were wheeled away just as efficiently, and traffic flowed again.”

Last year during the festival a suspected drunk driver sped through an intersection striking two pedestrians and killing them. That intersection is now secured as are so many other areas where festival attendees were walking. Ten years ago, a similar car ramming claimed two more lives.

City council member Zo Qadri said, “It’s a top priority for all of us that everyone is able to safely enjoy South by Southwest, so the city has taken real steps by working closely with public safety officials to keep everyone safe.”

Before the event Meridian worked with the festival organizers to create a fully certified vehicle safety mitigation plan (VSMP). Along with the Archer 1200 Barriers the city also used Meridian’s crash tested Archer Beam Gates and Archer Rapid Gates to control intersections where approved delivery and official vehicles were allowed to pass.

Mr. Whitford pointed out that the effectiveness of the Archer 1200 Barriers was proven yet again the week prior to the opening of SXSW. “We had our barriers out in Little Rock, Arkansas protecting runners taking part in the 5k marathon on the Saturday and the full marathon on the Sunday. On both days the Archer barriers stopped two separate drivers from getting onto the marathon routes.” he said. “On the first occasion the vehicle was stopped in a matter of feet and the driver was arrested. On the second day once again, a driver hit the barriers but reversed quickly and sped away.”

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

Eric Alms
Meridian Rapid Defense Group
+1 213-400-9811
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube

Meridian Crash Testing

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.