My City By The Bay

The county sheriff’s office just reported that in 2008 thirty four people committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.  That total is one less than 2007 and ten less than the average of 24 per year.  There have been an estimated thirteen hundred suicides since the bridge opened to the public in 1937.  Eighty five percent of all the jumpers were residents of the bay area. In October 2008 the bridge district approved the building of a net below the bridge to prevent suicides.  Four things come to mind with this decision.

1.  Accidents on the bridge itself are much more frequent.  Therefore rather than spending millions to build a net that money should be spent for a barrier across the North and Southbound lanes.

2.  How in the world is a net going to help? Can’t you just visualize these people who are going to jump falling into a net and hanging there for hours until someone notices? Seriously.

3.  People who want to commit suicide will find another way.   The proposed net will not help in preventing suicides.

4.  It will ruin the aesthetic beauty of the bridge. I know this sounds shallow but a net will permanently disfigure one of the most beautiful bridges in the world.

The above video was taken of a jumper in 2004.  It is graphic so be warned.  One thing I want you pay close attention to are the people to the right of him.  They are right there watching him stand up on the railing yet do nothing.  There are other people walking and riding across the bridge and yet again do nothing.  It is disgusting and shocking to watch. There should be more police patrolling especially at night.  I have been there late at night and there is basically no security at all.  More cameras should be installed to make it easier for authorities to spot unusual behavior.  

Most people on the bridge are there for two reasons.  Either for exercise purposes or they are tourists.  It seems to me that if someone is trying to climb over the wall or is sitting on the wall that is a clue they are about to jump.  There are actual photos of people engaged in this behavior right before they jump yet no one does anything until after the fact.  There should be security hired specifically for this purpose and paid for by the bridge district.

The bottom line is that a net will not prevent suicides.  People will find other ways.