Discussions on Colorado Street Bridge Barriers Continue Wednesday

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

Nearly 2,000 people have leapt to their deaths since the bridge opened in 1937.

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

On Tuesday, the Design Commission will review and provide advisory comments to the City Council regarding the proposed alternative designs for new barriers 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.

Members of the Public Safety Committee expressed an interest in placing security on the bridge and working to change the bridge’s reputation. 

Mayor Victor Gordo, Justin Jones and Steve Madison were not in favor of any of the preliminary concepts and instead voiced support for keeping temporary measures to remain in place and staffing on the bridge while the City works to change the bridge’s reputation.

Nets have been recommended as a possible solution in Pasadena.

In San Francisco, The number of people who jumped declined from an annual average of 30 to 14. Most of the deaths occurred in the spots where crews had not finished installing the barriers..

Crews helped out people that jumped into the net. However some people jumped from the net into the ocean and died, according to an Associated Press article published on Wednesday.

The Public Safety Committee also suggested signage on the bridge and involving a public health professional. 

The efforts to use barriers to prevent people from leaping to their death 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.

On May 1, 1937, Myrtle Ward, a struggling 22-year-old mother who had lost her job in the great depression, wrapped her 3-year-old daughter Jean Pykkonen in a thick wool coat and threw her off the bridge before jumping herself. The thick coat her daughter was wrapped in, snagged on several tree branches and slowed her daughter’s descent.

The mother died, but the youngster survived. She is one of the few to survive a leap from the bridge.

If you are dealing with a mental health crisis, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

The Design Commission meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The meeting can be viewed at http://www.pasadenamedia.org and http://www.cityofpasadena.net/COMMISSIONS/AGENDAS.