The spate of vehicle attacks prompted discussion about what more the city could do to insulate pedestrian areas from traffic, and whether, in Times Square at least, it made sense to further reduce traffic along some blocks. 
 
 At the news conference, the mayor did not take questions and said little regarding tactics, besides installing the bollards. 
 
 Bollards are not new to Times Square. They were installed by the dozens in the area in 2016. 
 
 Last May, bollards on 45th Street eventually stopped the car whose driver, high on PCP, had driven along three city blocks of sidewalk, killing an 18-year-old woman and injuring 20 people. 
 
 The city’s transportation commissioner, Polly Trottenberg, said that installing bollards is complicated because of the infrastructure and subway lines below some of the city’s busiest areas. “If you want to make them so they can really stop a vehicle, they need to go some distance into the ground,” Ms. Trottenberg said. 
 
 A spokesman for the Transportation Department, Scott Gastel, said that there are “nearly 50 locations with such permanent bollards” around the city, but that they had mainly been installed by private entities, or diplomatic missions. 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced new measures to prevent vehicle ramming terror attacks in New York City.Starting later this month, the city will begin installing more than 1,500 new permanent bollards in Times Square and other public spaces.The metal stations are meant to address the threat of vehicle borne terror attacks and keep pedestrians safe."These bollards will make sure vehicles can never come into places where pedestrians are," de Blasio said.The mayor mentioned the Halloween terror attack , in which alleged ISIS sympathizer Sayfullo Saipov allegedly drove a rented truck into pedestrians on the jogging path adjacent to the Hudson River."When a vehicle plows into a group of innocent pedestrians, it's disgusting," de Blasio said.The mayor also mentioned what happened in Times Square in May, when Richard Rojas, a Navy veteran allegedly high on drugs, plowed through a crowded sidewalk, killing an 18-year-old visitor from Michigan."These are some of the busiest streets in the world," de Blasio said. "People have to get around, but they also have to be safe."The city plans to spend $50 million on the new protective bollards. The first ones will be temporary, followed by the permanent installation beginning in March 2018. The complete rollout of these permanent structures will be completed over the next few years.The city conducted a review of locations, including business corridors, tourist attractions and iconic sites, identifying 10 key locations to be addressed with permanent fixtures. Most of these locations are currently protected with temporary security structures.The transportation committee voted in support of bill 1658A , and it passed unanimously (50-0) through the full council.----------
– "When a vehicle plows into a group of innocent pedestrians, it's disgusting," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday, announcing a plan to install 1,500 new security bollards to protect pedestrians from vehicle ramming attacks like the one that killed eight people on Halloween. The mayor said the metal posts—which will replace temporary concrete barriers in some places, making it easier for pedestrians to get around—will be installed in locations including Times Square beginning later this month, ABC7 reports. "These bollards will make sure vehicles can never come into places where pedestrians are," he said. The city says the permanent barriers, including concrete planters as well as bollards, will be installed over the next few years at a cost of around $50 million. Officials say installing the bollards in some of New York's busiest areas will be complicated because of the amount of infrastructure below ground, the New York Times reports. "If you want to make them so they can really stop a vehicle, they need to go some distance into the ground," says Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. (In May last year, bollards eventually stopped a man who drove along New York City sidewalks for three blocks, injuring 22 people and killing a visitor from Michigan.)