Golden Gate Bridge Gets Suicide Prevention Barrier

The Golden Gate Bridge has held an infamous distinction as one of the world’s most popular destinations for people to end their lives, with around 2,000 having done so since the bridge’s 1937 opening.

But a long-hoped-for deterrent at the bridge is likely already saving lives.

Olga Rodriguez of the Associated Press wrote a piece, published Jan. 3 by KQED, about how San Francisco city officials have installed 20-foot-wide stainless steel mesh netting on either side of the bridge.

Rodriguez noted that, according to Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District General Manager Dennis Mulligan, the netting is already working as intended, with the annual rate of suicides dropping from 30 to 14 as the barrier neared completion last year. This is due in part to the netting acting as a deterrent to would-be jumpers since landing on it is far from painless.

“It’s stainless-steel wire rope netting, so it’s like jumping into a cheese grater,” Mulligan told Rodriguez. “It’s not soft. It’s not rubber. It doesn’t stretch.”

Still, if it’s saving lives, it’s a superb improvement for what had heretofore been a vexing public health issue for San Francisco’s iconic bridge.

Read the full article, “San Francisco Finally Installs Suicide-Prevention Nets on Golden Gate Bridge,” on KQED.org.