No Consensus, No Approvals of New Colorado Street Bridge Suicide Mitigation Barrier Concepts at Design Commission Meeting

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 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. 

Three barrier concepts were presented to the Public Safety Committee in 2021, but the Councilmembers did not approve any of the designs and instead directed the design team to look for additional options. 

At its meeting on Tuesday, January 9, project designer Apexx Architecture, who has been working on the new design concepts since April 2023, presented three design options for the bridge barriers. 

The material proposed to be used for the first two barrier options is webmesh while the material proposed for the third option is metal picket. 

Maxim D. Nasab from Apexx Architecture said they are proposing to add lights for an additional layer of safety and to keep the original Beaux Arts globed lights and standards on the bridge, which have been there since 1913.

“We don’t want to modify it. We want to keep everything as original as possible. Everything that we do, we want to have it as an add on.” 

Commissioners did not arrive at a consensus on the proposed new designs. 

Some commissioners said they were not satisfied with all three designs while some favored the webmesh options.

“I’m not happy with any of them and I think perhaps there is a better solution out there and it needs to be a little bit more creative,” said Commissioner Julianna Delgado. “I don’t want any of these things to be on that bridge for any amount of time. They don’t work.” 

Delgado said the webmesh options look temporary and not elegant. While the metal pickets “relate to the bridge,” she said it is still not the best option. 

“I still find it difficult to accept any one of them,” said Commissioner Robert Carpenter.  

“While all of them have positive aspects to them, I tend to favor the canted mesh option as an approach. I think it still has some ways to go,” said Commissioner Srinivas Rao.

Commissioner Marie-Claude Fares said she also prefers the webmesh options.

“The option with metal pickets ruins it for everyone — ruins it for the drivers, ruins it for the people looking through the bridge and ruins it for the pedestrians. That, I don’t think will be a successful approach.” 

Hayden Melbourne, Engineer of Pasadena Public Works said the designers will come back with refinements and additional options.

“We’re going to keep coming back until we get it right,” he told commissioners. 

The public works department currently has $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that will cover the expenses for the design of the bridge barrier and a portion of construction.