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 know that Carmax locations have constructed concrete barriers between the side doors and the car lot, and some locations will even park a vehicle just inside the main entrance to block access after hours. They told me that thieves would drive a vehicle right through the main entrance and then through the side entrance, destroying the doors and allowing them to drive vehicles back through the store and out into the main street. Crazy.