In recent news, San Francisco officials recently approved an enormous $76 Million budget to prevent citizens from jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge. Last year, almost 50 people jumped to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge. Moreover, an estimated 1600 have died since the historical bridge’s initial existence. While we agree with the suicide barrier, we think some of the millions of dollars spent on this current project could have been used to fund/create suicide prevention programs instead. What do you think?
[ AP News Via Terry Collins and Sudhin Thanawala ]
A teary-eyed Dana Barks was almost speechless after officials for the San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge approved a $76 million funding package for a suicide barrier that could prevent people from jumping to their deaths.
The bridge district’s board of directors voted unanimously in favor Friday for the funding of a steel suicide net. The motion for the historic vote came from board member and former bridge district director John Moylan, whose grandson, Sean Moylan, jumped off the bridge to his death earlier this month.
Seconds after the vote, the tears from many people in the standing-room-only crowd were followed by shouts of joy.
“A lot of people have done so much incredible work to get this accomplished,” said Barks of Napa, who lost his son, Donovan, to suicide on the bridge in 2008.
After the vote, Barks rose from his knees and shared an emotional embrace with Sue Story of Rocklin, whose son Jacob jumped off the bridge in 2010.
“We did it!” Story said. “It’s no longer the Bridge of Death anymore.”
Funding sources for the suicide barrier include $20 million from the bridge, mostly coming from toll revenue, $49 million in federal money and $7 million from the state. Some of the money still requires additional approval.
But the bridge’s board has now taken its final step in adopting the net.
“The tragedy of today is that we can’t go back in time, we can’t save … the people who jumped off the bridge. But the good thing, with this vote today, we can vote in their memory,” board member Janet Reilly said. “We will save many lives who have followed in their footsteps — and that’s what so extraordinary about today.”
The Golden Gate Bridge, with its sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, has long been a destination for people seeking to end their lives. Since the structure opened in 1937, officials say more than 1,400 people have plunged to their deaths, including a record 46 suicides last year. Supporters of the suicide barrier estimate that more than 1,600 have died jumping off the bridge.
Most jumpers suffer a grisly death, with massive internal injuries, broken bones and skull fractures. Some die from internal bleeding. Others drown.
Officials have discussed a suicide barrier on the bridge for decades. In 2008, the bridge’s board voted to install a stainless steel net, rejecting other options, including raising the 4-foot-high railings and leaving the world-renown span unchanged
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