I live in a relatively low crime area. Our local Sam's club which is about 5 years old redid their front entrance.
All they did was add a string of concrete and steel poles. They had a few before that a car would not be able to get through. Now they removed the old poles and have maybe double and you can see they are much stronger.
It just seems really weird and unnecessary Are they getting ready for something?
Has anybody seen any unexplained security upgrades at big box stores near you?
If not then this is just a local thing. It could be possible that the old barriers were not installed correctly.
It seems like something like this would be one of the first concrete (no pun intended) indication that people in the know are getting ready for something we are not going to like.
I'm sure the reason for this move is twofold.
One, there are many thugs and pucks that would think nothing of heisting a car, truck, or even a semi and turning the club into a drive through.
Second, liability. There was a case not too long ago of a store that did not have these bollards, and in the course of the punk crashing the store, killed a person sitting outside the store. Stout bollards would have prevented this.
Now, if they were this diligent about customer service.