Loblaws recently installed 7 foot high Plexiglass barriers that funnel people out of the stores. They claim it will stop theft and make people safer.
Many people have voiced concerns about these barriers possibly being a fire hazard, in the sense that they might create a bad bottle neck in the event of an evacuation. Many people panic during an emergency. However, I have also seen many people stating that it’s not technically against the fire code.
In your opinion, is this a hazard? Do you think it’s fine, or do you think that this could be one of those situations that ends up causing new regulations to be added after casualties happen? Do you think that people are too worried, or do you think that these concerns are valid?
https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2024/04/ontario-barriers-exit-loblaws-store/
I hate them. The stores clearly weren’t designed with them in mind, and all it does is make getting from point A to point B 10x harder if those points aren’t exactly where they expect you to go. Need to get to customer service or grab a paper after you’ve entered the store already? Good luck, now you have to go ALLLL the way around the store, fully exit, and then you can get there. Before it was a 2 second walk, now it’s 5 minutes.