Winnipeg police confident in Whiteout Street Party security in light of Toronto attack

If you are one of the thousands of Winnipeggers who have gone downtown to take part in the Whiteout Street Party, you may have noticed dump trucks parked at major access points.

That’s one way Winnipeg Police is trying to prevent something similar to what happened in Toronto Monday when a van struck 25 pedestrians, killing 10.

With close to 16,000 people crammed into tight quarters, police want to do everything possible to ensure people have a safe, good time.

“Part of that is ensuring that there’s no vehicles that will either deliberately or inadvertently get through,” Insp. Dave Dalal said. “The one advantage of a movable barrier versus a cement one is that, if there’s an emergency within that zone, we still have an access route for emergency personnel to get in. It’s a better option for us.”

Dalal, a Special Events Commander, said police don’t want to publicly discuss specific tactics, but noted the unpredictable nature of what happened in Toronto.

“We’ve seen these threats worldwide. The reason that they’re so prolific is because they’re hard to prevent and easy to carry out,” Dalal explained.

“I can tell you that it’s in our minds, we’re mindful of it, and our operational plan reflects our capability to deal with it.”

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Dalal indicated their approach to the next street party will not change, stressing that their tactics attempt to deal with every type of threat.

WATCH: Winnipeg Police Insp. Dave Dalal said the Toronto attack is in their minds as they make plans for Street Party security  

0:38 Winnipeg police confident in Whiteout Street Party security in light of Toronto attack

“People should be concerned that people in the world are doing that. You can’t prevent these attacks everywhere, as you’ve seen. Nobody thought it would happen in Toronto, and we don’t know what will happen locally but we’re doing our best to make sure it doesn’t happen here. We’ve been mindful of this type of threat, and that’s why you’ve seen the large vehicles parked there.”

He said they re-evaluate their gameplan after each party, making sure they’re prepared for an increased footprint and more people showing up.

Details for the next street party have not been released since the NHL has not yet publicly released the schedule for the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.