Golden Gate Implements New Suicide Prevention Measures
After years of pressure from victims' families, the installation of $217 million in steel netting is almost complete on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, aiming to prevent suicides. An estimated 2,000 people have jumped to their death since the bridge opened in 1937. The nets, nearly invisible from a distance, hang about 20 feet down and stretch about 20 feet out, stitched between new struts. While they have already shown themselves to be a deterrent, it will take a year or two of data to fully understand their effectiveness. The completion of the system, which has taken longer to build than the bridge itself, has brought mixed emotions of satisfaction, exhaustion, and peace to those who have fought for suicide prevention measures.