Added security measures at 5th and Walnut parking garage

The Columbia City Council has held several public hearings on the fiscal year 2020 budget.

The budget includes several added security measures for parking garages downtown. Those added measures include replacing cameras in the downtown parking garages and adding security fencing at the Fifth and Walnut parking garage.

Several people have either fallen or jumped to their deaths at the Fifth and Walnut parking garage.

Mayor Brian Treece said adding security fencing could be beneficial.

“Anything that we can do to help curb the availability or that instinct I think is going to be helpful,” Treece said.

“Several months ago there was a conversation about beautification of the city parking garage, and I thought then it would be a better investment for us to really look at how do we enhance some of those safety and security measures so that we could prevent one life at that facility it would be worth taking a look at that,” he said.

Treece said there are other measures the city could take to keep people safe.

“For that specific garage, you know, we can talk about screening the windows so that it’s even, if you fence off the top floor do you just go to the sixth floor instead,” he said. “And, again, it’s macabre to even consider those types of architectural design elements in a public facility like that, but unfortunately we have to do that occasionally,” he said.

A spokesman from Public Works said it is not clear yet what the fencing would look like. He said once the City Council approves the budget public works will begin researching what other cities use, and what the city could utilize on that specific garage.