Integrated Security Solutions for Winchester Old Town Mall

Concentric Security, Heald’s USA distribution partner, worked with Heald to provide an integrated security solution to secure Winchester Old Town Mall in Virginia. Following past attacks in Charlottesville and Toronto, a vehicle mitigation solution was required to keep pedestrians safe from vehicle attacks.

A historic district with some buildings dating back 250 years, Winchester Old Town Mall, also known as Loudon Street Mall, is a pedestrian shopping district and home to a variety of retailers and restaurants. The required solution would need to stop non-permitted vehicles entering the street while allowing access for authorized vehicles to make deliveries.

Challenges

The existing underground utilities are close to the surface, preventing the use of a traditional deep mount bollards. Heald’s Matador bollard systems accommodated the site requirements by requiring a shallow foundation depth of approximately 11”, making it ideal for this kind of existing urban area.

It was also important the install blend in with the aesthetics of the historic Winchester Old Town Mall. Matador bollard systems can be customized in different ways, including matching existing surroundings by blending the base with the placement area and custom covers for the bollards.

The Result

Two of Heald’s HT2-Matador 4’s were selected to secure the North and South entrances. The HT2-Matador 4 is a crash rated sliding bollard system consisting of two fixed bollards and two central sliding bollards, operated hydraulically.

The historic aesthetics of the Old Town Winchester were preserved by spraying the base of the Matadors to blend in with the existing brick pavers, the Matadors were supplied with black covers to match the style of surrounding street lights, and covering the cabinets where the controls are installed with historic pictures of Winchester taken from Winchester archives. At the request of Old Town merchants, a street map of the area was also integrated into one side of the panel facing the Loudon Street Mall.

Police, fire and rescue personnel were provided with remote controls to allow emergency personnel to open the bollards at any time with the emergency fast operation. Emergency fast operation opens the Matadors in approximately 2 seconds to allow access for emergency access.

Working in Partnership

David Wachs, President at Concentric Security, said

“The Matador is the ideal product for existing urban areas where utilities and site conditions prohibit large excavations. We are proud to have been able to secure this prestigious location with the support of Heald”.

Commenting on the install and working with Concentric Security, Managing Director Debbie Heald MBE said:

“Once again, this is another great install that we have worked on with our distribution partner, Concentric Security. I am proud that we have been able to supply a security solution which is appropriate for the area.”