The ‘suicide barriers’ (the black metalwork in the rear) going up on the refurbished Burrard Bridge don’t look that bad. Certainly not the awkward intrusion some feared, perhaps because they are fitted in between concrete stanchions that echo the design of the original balustrades.
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Ahem… Suicide relocation barriers. Do we want somebody to jump in front of a bus instead? This solves nothing but makes me want to jump off a bridge.
Analysis of the cost effectiveness of a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23261913
Bibliography of a variety of bridge barrier studies:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/useful-links/bibliography/bridge-bibliography/
Seems to me these studies compare suicides on bridges with and without barriers and off of other high structures. The conclusions are that there are fewer successful jumping suicides when barriers are installed. But that would have to be on every bridge. And then?
What about other means? I hardly imagine that a truly suicidal person will just say to themselves, “I can’t jump off a bridge so life really is worthwhile”.
I didn’t see total suicide rates by all methods being discussed – just those concerning jumping. Did overdoses or car crashes or death by police or jumping in front of trains increase? Would we even know if all of those were suicides or not?
I prefer to get to the root(s) of problems than degrade the experience for everyone with band-aid solutions. I wonder how many are driven to despair by the layers upon layers of society’s “solutions” to problems. I can imaging back-up and car alarms alarms triggering increasing anxiety for example. Who knows what little things cause such despair? Really… after all this time. Who knows? Why?
Is it because we so often find the easy but ineffective solution and say good enough?
I really find it sad the aversion that many people have to suicide barriers. Studies suggest that these things really do save lives, and for good reason: killing yourself is scary, the harder or less certain you make the action, the scarier it gets. Running in front of a car, for instance, is much scarier and more uncertain than jumping off of a bridge. Maybe you won’t die. Maybe you’ll hurt other people. This is why people rarely commit suicide this way. This is also why suicide barriers are truly not “suicide relocation” devices, as you suggest, but life saving devices. Not because someone suddenly feels better about their life, but because they don’t impulsively follow through with an irreversible decision, often based on short-term emotional trauma. If suicidal people don’t follow through, their lives will not change suddenly the next day, but over time most will see drastic improvements in their condition, though many will likely also see relapses. Most depression is not permanent, most suicidal feelings as well.
I found the following article a very good read many years ago. It personally changed my opinion, which probably was the same as yours, to one supporting suicide barriers where appropriate. I believed that these barriers either weren’t worth the cost or weren’t effective, ugly and intrusive. But if suicide barriers really do work, and studies suggest that they do, then why shouldn’t we do everything we can to prevent that? Not just for their own personal lives, but for the societal benefits that it carries, as the social harm ripples through society in many ways, affecting friends, family, acquaintances, etc.
Anyway, the link is here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/13/jumpers
Okay, so I read the article and it hasn’t changed my mind. It is a heartstrings piece that does nothing to address the root of the problem. It’s a long read but only one short paragraph mentions research, and it is disturbingly flawed.
The study tracks 515 people who were “prevented from committing suicide at the bridge” and finds that 94% did not commit suicide later. This sounds great on the surface – but it is very misleading. I think we all understand that suicide attempts can be a desperate cry for help. Those who were prevented from jumping in all likelihood do not represent those most determined to succeed. It is by no means an accurate measure of those who would never try again, or elsewhere, if they were thwarted by a barrier.
I’m not saying that a suicide barrier would never save a life. But I’m not the least convinced that it is the right approach to save the most lives. I’ve now read three unconvincing links posted here. I’m open. But you’ll have to do better.
I think the new barriers are wonderful. The design fits in so well with the overall look of the bridge. And they are so much better that the chain link fencing currently lining some sections.
I think they look fine.
I hardly noticed them when driving across the bridge
(mind you, the ones installed have the backdrop of twiggy trees).
BTW – if anyone has noticed, the southeast side of the Bridge already and has had a chain link fence barrier for many years – to prevent people or things from falling onto the boats in the Burrard Civic Marina below. I don’t know what the plans are for that side (i.e. if the chain link fence will be layered onto the new barrier or whether there will be a new finer grained design for that section).
They look a lot less intrusive than the ones on the second narrows. More to scale of the bridge. Nice.
An acquaintance worked out of Jericho rescue, a volunteer from one of the sailing clubs there. One of their job biggest was fishing people out of the inlet who had jumped. Not a pretty task. Many of the people they did save ended up with traumatic brain injuries. I am sure the cost of these barriers will be paid off in saved medical costs in not too long a time frame.