St. Paul adds safety measures to McMurray Field after driver gets onto soccer pitch
A motorist driving their car onto McMurray Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, has prompted the city to install new barriers aimed at keeping vehicles off the turf.
"Its scary. It's disturbing and infuriating. People come here to recreate," said Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez. "It's a high-volume site for soccer, lacrosse and other things. To see something like that happen here, it's disappointing, and we had to take action on it."
A video posted to social media in April showed a motorist driving onto the field during a match organized by a TikTok content creator. Witnesses said the car drove around the crowd and appeared to head right towards the group before leaving the arena No one was hurt, and no arrests have been made.
The incident prompted the city to create new safety measures around the field.
"We put in some new stone blocks and some fencing around the perimeter of McMurray. We heard strongly from residents and the community about the need for safety deterrents to prevent that from ever happening again," said Rodriguez.
There are roughly 22 new limestone blocks, and a new fence around the perimeter of the field. The city says it will also be adding a gate.
"We were fortunate enough to be able to use the local option sales tax fund to support this project to the tune of $115,000," said Rodriguez.
For park visitor Eric Huynh, the new installation is a welcome addition.
"They are definitely going to help. Nothing's going to move over these blocks. Definitely a deterrent for people to drive down," said Huynh.
Rodriguez said that the city is continuing to assess whether similar safety measures are needed at other parks around Saint Paul.
