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Anti-Terror Bollards Have Popped Up In Melbourne And Sydney Overnight

Concrete blocks have sprung up up prominent locations in cities around Australia.

Commuters making their way through Melbourne's Southern Cross Station were greeted by large concrete bollards on Friday morning that had been installed overnight as part of Victoria's increased security measures.

The Age reported that more than 50 of the bollards were strategically placed around the station's major entry points in an effort from the state government to prevent similar vehicle-style terror attacks that have occurred in London, Niece, Stockholm and Berlin.

Up to 140 of the anti-terror bollards were placed across eight prominent Melbourne sites overnight including the Queen Victoria Market, Flinders Street Station and Federation Square, 3AW reports.

Larissa Ham / Fairfax

The installation of the blocks follows the allocation of $10 million in the Victorian state budget to increase security measures across the state after Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, allegedly drove his car into crowds of pedestrians in Melbourne's Bourke Street in January, killing six people.

Since the construction of the bollards in Melbourne, barricades set up in Martin Place have also been seen by Sydneysiders on Friday afternoon in a move a City of Sydney spokesperson told HuffPost Australia is "to block vehicle access in response to security concerns".

"The City of Sydney takes advice from NSW Police and state emergency services on issues of public safety, including the installation of bollards and barricades to block vehicle access in response to security concerns," the spokesperson said.

"As part of our ongoing work to review and strengthen security in public spaces, the City is currently installing concrete barricades in Martin Place, between Phillip and Elizabeth Streets. This is not in response to any specific threat.

"Temporary barricades have been installed in Martin Place while the City considers more permanent measures, such as bollards, garden beds or other landscaping features."

The Victorian bollards received mixed reactions from Melburnians, with some commuters telling 3AW they thought they were "unnecessary", while others believed that they were a product of "a reality we have to live".

A city worker told Fairfax that he thought the concrete blocks were "absolutely hideous".

"What next -- barbed wire? It doesn't look good at all," he said.

Larissa Ham / Fairfax

"Safety is paramount, but I'm sure there's other ways of controlling safety around the city

"The world's most livable city, and now we're having concrete bollards everywhere. The design's not good, hopefully it's temporary."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the bollards were to be installed earlier this month following Brighton's deadly siege.

Andrews said that despite their undesirable appearance, a rapid response was needed to ensure the safety of Victorians, with there being "no time to be wasted".

"We weren't going to wait around for six months or twelve months while planter boxes are built so they look better," he said.

"The threat of terror -- the threat of hostile vehicle attacks, the threats to public safety -- are all too real."

The barricades in both Sydney and Melbourne also come following word from the Gold Coast City Council that the city is planning to install 16 "heavy duty retractable bollards to protect visitors and residents at large scale outdoor events" by the end of 2017, in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Gold Coast City mayor Tom Tate said: "These high-impact bollards can repel the force of a large heavy goods vehicle, stopping it in its tracks and saving lives.

"I have committed $500,000 in the 2017-18 budget to purchase the first of these bollards for Surfers Paradise for large crowd events such as schoolies, the GC600, fireworks displays and New Year's Eve celebrations."

The reports come after Adelaide also made the move earlier this year to install permanent bollards in Rundle Mall in order to increase security and control traffic flow to the area.

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