Jersey barricades
long concrete barriers, about 3' high and impassible to cars, of the sort that might run along the median strip of a highway. Thus they would be readily available to government bodies, and have come into recent prominence as follows:
From the Chicago Tribune newspaper (site requires registration):
For Chicagoans, one unfortunate outcome of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been the barricading of the plaza at the Chicago Federal Center... The plaza, whose exuberant red "Flamingo" stabile by Alexander Calder provides a perfect counterpoint to the cool black high-rises by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, long has been a popular gathering place and a symbol of an open and accessible federal government.
But all that changed on Sept. 11 when a scheduled farmer's market on the plaza was shut down because trucks delivering produce were thought to pose a security threat.
Within days, concrete "Jersey barriers" went up around the borders of the plaza, and the once-vibrant public space took on a whole new character. People could still walk through it, passing through small openings in the barriers, but it seemed chillingly empty.
