Rising bollard system for Bourke St under consideration

A RISING bollard system is one option under consideration for the Bourke St Mall to prevent rogue cars from entering the shopping precinct.

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A RISING bollard system is one option under consideration for the Bourke St Mall to prevent rogue cars from entering the shopping precinct.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for more bollards to be installed in Melbourne to prevent a repeat of the devastating Bourke St attack, which killed six people.

PM: BOURKE ST MALL NEEDS SAFETY BOLLARDS IN WAKE OF DEADLY RAMPAGE

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Melbourne GPO laying floral tributes. Picture: Getty

SES, Red Cross and Victorian Council of Churches volunteers on Tuesday began removing the mass of floral tributes and other items from nine Bourke St sites.

The search was temporarily suspended after a suspicious package was found.

The police Bomb Response Unit later declared the package safe.

BOURKE ST SCARE AS FLOWER MEMORIAL GOES

Suspicious Device found in Bourke Street memorial flowers. SES volunteers return to remove flowers from site. Picture David Caird

Bourke Street Memorial flowers being removed. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said talks had begun with the City of Melbourne about improving security in the popular shopping mall.

“It was certainly something we were looking at, even before Christmas when there was that terrorist plot,” Mr Ashton said.

“We’ve been talking to the Lord Mayor about what those options might be and I think now we need to quicken that pace up.

“There are some options we’ve got to look at but they’re a combination of both engineering and security planning so we’ve got to bring the right minds together to make it happen.”

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty

One possible option to accommodate trams was a rising bollard system, Mr Ashton said.

“If you look at London they have the bollards that come up and down, I think the bus drivers have buttons they push and they go down and come up,” he said.

“Clearly we need to do something sooner than later but it has to be properly planned out and designed, that’s the key.”

“It needs to be done right and done right first time but certainly the work is underway to look at what we can do.”

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the City of Melbourne would have ongoing discussions with Victoria Police, the AFP and the State Government about upgrading security in the CBD.

“We will need to consider broader issues than just the Bourke St mall but we will continue to do all that is advisable and practical to keep people safe,” Cr Doyle said.

“I expect that some of the recommendations of the coronial inquiry will have weight in our considerations.”

Premier Daniel Andrews said his latest advice was seven people remained in hospital with one in a grave condition.

“We know that they will get great care, whether that’s enough in the wake of the horrific injuries that were suffered, we’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

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