Colorado Street Bridge Barriers Survey Ends Wednesday

The public can share its opinion on the Colorado Street Bridge Barrier Enhancement Project, but the new survey concludes on Wednesday, Jan 31.

The public opinion survey is available here. Via the survey, the public can share its opinion of newly developed preliminary barrier design concepts.

The news comes as Pasadena continues to discuss ways to mitigate suicides on the Colorado Street Bridge.

In 2017, a temporary 10-foot tall chain link fence was installed at each of the bridge alcoves due to a significant increase in the number of suicide incidents. Despite this, the incidents continued, prompting the City Council, in that same year, to direct City staff to develop a permanent design for barriers.

Seven years have passed, and the City Council has not yet approved a design for the barriers. 

Earlier this month the Design Commission was not satisfied with new proposed concepts for Colorado Street Bridge barriers, designed to prevent suicide-related incidents on the bridge. 

In November, Apexx Architecture provided three preliminary concepts for the bridge barriers, canted webmesh, vertical webmesh and metal picket.

Engineers with Apexx studied photos of the bridge in 1913 shortly after it opened and photos all the way up to the 1990s.

The City wants to use the survey to engage the public and take into consideration the community’s feedback as the design options are further developed. 

The survey will close this Wednesday, January 31. Nets have been recommended as a possible solution in Pasadena.

After five years San Francisco officials recently announced that crews have completed the installation of stainless-steel nets on both sides of the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) Golden Gate Bridge.

The efforts to use barriers to prevent people from leaping to their deaths from the bridge date back to 2018 when the City posted chain link fencing on the iconic bridge.

That year, 10 people jumped to their deaths from the bridge, 22 others either were talked down, climbed out on the bridge or were standing nearby contemplating suicide.

Former City Manager Steve Mermell declared a local emergency after police spent 13 hours successfully talking a distraught man down during Labor Day weekend.

Using his emergency powers, Mermell spent $295,932 on fencing to span both sides of the 1,400-foot-long bridge.

Concerns about jumpers increased after the city approved a Habitat for Humanity housing project beneath the famous structure.

Earlier this year, the City removed mock-ups from the bridge as part of the suicide mitigation Barrier Enhancements project.

The group also asked for the restoration of the temporary 10-foot chain link fence at certain locations at and near the bridge and continued public outreach efforts to develop new design concepts for an effective vertical barrier.

After the bridge appeared in a Charlie Chaplain film during the Great Depression, people began traveling to the bridge to commit suicide.

More than 150 people have jumped from the bridge with more than half of the suicides taking place during the 1930s.

For additional information, please contact the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division at ColoradoStBridge@cityofpasadena.net.