Thousands of Farmer's Markets are held every week in the United States.  Some are held in parking lots, some are held on campuses, and some on private property.  But many are held on city streets.  And every year at these events where the streets are closed off, tragedy strikes -- a driver makes a wrong turn, or loses control, and drives into the crowd and into or through the tents, vendors, and shoppers.

Tragically this weekend a woman was killed and up to six injured while shopping for produce at a Farmer's Market in Hawthorne New Jersey.  While overall coverage has been spotty, NJ.com has done a good job:  see coverage HERE.
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UPDATE:  THE WOMAN KILLED IS IDENTIFIED AS 58 YEAR-OLD DONNA WINE.  THE DRIVER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND LEAVING THE SCENE, AND HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS 48 YEAR-OLD JAMES WOETZEL.  THE INJURY REPORT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO TWO VICTIMS NOT INCLUDING MS. WINE
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These preventable and predictable tragedies are repeated over and over because market promoters and participants and local officials assume that "This is how we always do this" is the same thing as "This is the safe way to do this."  Despite all the evidence in the world that no speeding car has ever been stopped by a plastic sign or wooden sawhorse, visual barriers are still considered to be state of the art protection for pedestrians at "street closing" events.

This accidents comes almost exactly a year after the car drove around an inadequate barrier and careened down the Ocean Front Walk in Venice California, killing one and injuring more than a dozen, and five months after a speeding car in Austin Texas went through IDENTICAL barriers to those used in Hawthorne and killed four people and injured almost twenty attending the SXSW music festival.   And there have been more deaths and injuries at many other Farmer's Markets and street fairs and festivals in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut over the last two years as well, all of which should have alerted officials and promoters in Hawthorne to take a look at the their traffic management plan and their safety plans.  From the news reports, this seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Of course, the Tragedy Poster Child for farmer's markets and street closures is the 2003 incident in Santa Monica California, where an elderly driver drove three blocks through a farmer's market and killed 10 people and injured 63 others.  So horrible was this tragedy that the National Transportation Safety Board (which investigates commercial plane crashes, train derailments, and other mass casualty events) did a thorough investigation of the incident and concluded, in part, that had effective steel barriers been deployed instead of the flimsy wooden barricades and plastic signs used (and used in Austin, and used in Hawhorne) the vehicle would not have been able to gain entry to the event and therefore no able to kill and maim so many innocent folks.

Sarah Goodyear of Atlantic Cities wrote a great piece about the predictable and foreseeable mayhem in Austin last March -- she titled it "We're Shamefully Bad at Protecting Pedestrians at Events Like SXSW" (read it HERE) and that just strikes me as being so simply true that it should stop people in their tracks.  Not just behind the curve, and not just neglectfully ignorant -- we should be ashamed at the lack of effort in an area where not only has the solution been pointed out by the NTSB, but there are constant and tragic reminders in the news of the consequences to people and communities who fail to take simple preventative steps to protect people.

I had a dentist for a long time who used to lecture me about flossing and getting regular cleanings.  He used to tell me I only had to take care of the teeth that I wanted to keep.  I guess it is true in cases like this -- you only have to protect the people that you want to keep alive.

Farmer's market promoters, city officials, loss and casualty companies, and police departments -- YOU ARE ON NOTICE.  Vehicle incursion accidents are inevitable at events involving street closings for two reasons -- drivers can do really stupid things and crowds presume they are perfectly safe because they are in a crowd and they do not see any traffic coming at them.  Given that tragedies are predictable and foreseeable, and given that there are so many examples of the failure of plastic signs and barricades to prevent them, FOLLOW THE NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS and require simple, effective and inexpensive steel barriers or bollards for all street closings, do it NOW, and get advice from a professional who can show you how to do it properly and in conformance with ADA requirements, traffic management planning, and basic perimeter security and safety procedures.

I have never been to Hawthorne New Jersey.  For all I know, it is a really nice place to live, and folks really like it there.  But I know that in the future, when I hear of Hawthorne, this failure to protect people will be the first thing I remember.  One dead, six injured, and it didn't have to be this way.

The driver who killed four and injured so many others in Austin Texas last month faces twenty more charges of assault with a deadly weapon.  Rashad Owens, just 21 years old, was trying to evade a policeman when he barreled through a manned police barricade and blasted through a crowd of people at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival.

According to the report: 
The suspect in the grisly wreck that killed four people and injured dozens more during the South by Southwest Music Festival now faces more charges. Rashad Owens, 21, now faces 20 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, adding to his previous charges of capital murder and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.  
- See more at: http://austin.twcnews.com/content/news/298422/sxsw-crash-suspect-faces-20-new-charges#sthash.vW7mhJSY.dpuf

In response to the tragedy, Austin Police chose to use massive amounts of manpower (as many as 100 officers) to man barricades for a much smaller event last weekend (70,000 people vs 200,000 for SXSW.)  Overtime for 100 officers every time there is an event requiring street closings will certainly cost far more than effective and proven steel bollards or barriers will cost -- the City of Santa Monica can attest to that after the Farmer's Market tragedy that killed 10 and injured more than sixty in July 2003.

Here is news coverage about this increased police presence for special events:

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Track stars and their fans moved from Myers Stadium for the Texas Relays down to Sixth Street. As many as 70,000 people to are expected to enjoy the downtown nightlife.

But Austin police have made some changes this year to keep the area safe.

The department stationed more than 100 officers on Sixth Street on Friday, arriving by the bus load on Capital Metro buses.

After the crash the killed four people during South by Southwest earlier this month, APD is trying something different for the Texas Relays. Officers are parking their marked units at blocked off intersections along Sixth Street to make sure crowds know they are present.

“Outside the barricades, having the marked units will have more of a presence than just your standard reflective barricade,” said APD Sgt. Jeff Crawford.

The department has not made a decision on whether they will staff all special events this way moving forward. Some of the officers that are out patrolling will be on overtime to handle the larger than normal crowds.

“Some years we have had 70,000-80,000 people descend on downtown,” said Crawford.
(see full coverage courtesy of KXAN)

The SXSW tragedy will wind its way through the courts for years.  Investigations into the crash and the Traffic Management Plan in place at the time of the incident will result in recommendations that will meet with resistance from various parts of the community.  In the meantime, police overtime and heavy use of manpower will raise costs but increase public safety.   The end result will be a new Traffic Management Plan that takes into account the NTSB recommendations made after the Santa Monica tragedy.

 But I think in the end, Sarah Goodyear writing in Atlantic Cities said it best:  "We're Shamefully Bad at Protecting Pedestrians at Events Like SXSW" (see her article HERE.)

But it didn't have to be this way.

28 years of using wooden barricades to protect the crowds at the SXSW Festival.  As they say, it was a question of WHEN, not a question of IF.  And now, the question is answered.  Once and for all.  As it was in Santa Monica ten years ago.  As it was answered in Venice Beach this past summer.  And now in Austin Texas

I think that Sarah Goodyear writing for The Atlantic Cities said it perfectly -- the title of her article this morning is "We're Shamefully Bad at Protecting Pedestrians at Events like SXSW" (full article HERE.)

By all reports, this is the first such incident in the 28 year history of the South By Southwest Festival.  But the previous 27 years have nothing to do with the events last night.  The Festival will never be quite as carefree again.  Families of the dead and injured will never be quite the same.  Lives have been changed.  Now, lawyers and lawsuits and settlements will do their work.  Millions will be paid out in claims.  Austin will make new safety and security plans.  It didn't have to be this way.

10 year ago the events at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market showed everyone that even well run and recurring events were vulnerable to wayward drivers.  10 people were killed and over 60 injured in that incident.  The NTSB spelled out a solution clearly for everyone in the country to see in their report on the incident:  

"Had Santa Monica installed a temporary rigid barrier system, such as bollards, at the closure limits of the Santa Monica Certified Farmers’ Market, the barrier system might have arrested or reduced the forward motion of the accident vehicle, thereby preventing it from continuing into the farmers’ market and eliminating or greatly reducing the number of casualties."   (see the full report HERE)

Just 7 months months ago, a rampaging vehicle killed a tourist on her honeymoon on the Ocean Front Walk along Venice Beach, just a few miles from Santa Monica.  This serene beach bike and pedestrian path was also relatively unprotected despite the lessons of ten years before in Santa Monica. (see ongoing news coverage HERE)

Early this morning, Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo held a news conference at the scene of the carnage, in which he showed clearly his concern, his anger, and his determination to bring the driver to justice.  At the end of his remarks he made this statement:

"We do these events very well, but you cannot stop a person who rather than face drunk driving charges decides to speed at a high rate of speed, go around a uniformed officer forcing him to run out of the way, then at a high rate of speed show total disregard for the sanctity of human life," Acevedo said.  (see the five minute video HERE)

With all respect, the Chief is not correct.   The fact is, you CAN stop a vehicle from entering into a closed pedestrian area.  It is done all the time.  And it can be done without huge expense and without building a fortress at every intersection.  Some time in the last 27 years, city officials needed to take a look around and say, "How can we do this better so that a tragedy like Santa Monica or Venice Beach cannot happen in Austin."

I guess they will now.  But it didn't have to be this way.