Posted on 02/25/2005 6:12:11 PM PST by BenLurkin
SAN FRANCISCO - Golden Gate Bridge officials Thursday moved closer to building a barrier to prevent people from jumping off the famous suspension bridge, where about 1,300 people have killed themselves since the landmark opened in 1937.
Officials voted to develop a plan and explore funding for the suicide barrier after hearing emotional testimony from friends and family of people who jumped off the iconic bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County.
The decision by a committee of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District still must be approved by the district's board of directors when it meets March 11.
All the nearly 20 people who testified Thursday urged committee members to erect the barrier.
"I don't want one more family member to go through this pain," said Terry Oxford of San Jose, whose 26-year-old daughter, Jennifer, jumped to her death last week. "She chose this bridge because it was accessible."
An average of 20 people a year commit suicide by pitching themselves over the bridge's 4 1/2-foot-high rail. Four have already done so this year.
"This is the place where the most preventable suicides occur," said Eve Meyer, executive director of San Francisco Suicide Prevention. "These are the most impulsive, least planned and least strategized suicides."
Building a suicide barrier on the bridge has been suggested for decades, but the idea gained momentum earlier this year when bridge officials learned that a filmmaker had filmed 19 people jumping off the bridge. Eric Steel told the bridge district he had intended to "capture the grandeur" of the bridge but ended up making a movie about its history of suicides.
Earlier this week, district staff members said it would take about two years and $2 million to develop a plan for the barrier and another two years to build it. The cost of the barrier depends on the design
Maybe they should lower it.
If it's san franciscans taking the plunge, why is that a bad thing?
Maybe they could just drain all that water ....
I think they should put fluffy foam below....
Bush's Fault
So if you're gonna jump, do it before 2009.
I wish I could put out a public service announcement to those who would like to kill themselves.
Please, do it at home. Bathtubs are nice. There are plenty of ways to go about your final hurrah - without inconveniencing ME - okay - all of us!
I've been stuck in traffic behind an undecided semi-suidical jerk more than a few times and it just makes me nuts. Stay off the bridges during rush hour! Please!
Thank you!
A thought.
They might consider setting up a "Suicide Zone" on the bridge. Place a large construction dumpster directly under it. Would make cleanup a lot cheaper and easier.
I guess this will make it harder for me to throw my ex-wifes "boyfriend" over the railing? Damn! I wanted to see if he could fly and swim.
I thought libs were in favor of assisted suicide.
So why not LOWER the bar?
Why not get them out of the DNA pool?
Why stop them when they do themselves in, a least they don't take a gun and kill 5 others before them self's.
Let them go....
If you are truly suicidal, is it a question of whether to do it from the Golden Gate Bridge or not at all? How many lives would this really save?
On December 17, 2001, 14-year-old Marissa Imrie paid $150 for a cab to take her from her home in Santa Rosa to the Golden Gate Bridge. When Marissa arrived, she walked out on to the bridge, climbed over the three and one-half foot railing, and jumped to her death. Marissa's body was recovered from the bay later that same day. Her "diary revealed an extremely depressed and distraught young girl."
From:
Court of Appeal, First District, Division 5, California.
Renee MILLIGAN, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, et al., Defendants and Respondents.
No. A102843.
June 4, 2004.
Background: Parent brought wrongful death action against transportation district and others, after her 14-year-old child committed suicide by jumping from bridge.
District filed demurrer, and the Superior Court, City and County of San Francisco, No. 416323, sustained demurrer without leave to amend. Parent appealed.
The judgment is affirmed.
Libs Support Euthenasia
Libs support Abortion
Why not suicide on the Golden Gate.
They could call it the "Bridge of Choice."
Just think they could march up and down this thing wearing their pro-bridge buttons and ribbons. They could have Goth and Death parades, they could have animal rights parades, they could have vegetaian parades , they could have gay and lesbian pride and outing parades. And whenever one of them feels the urge to express their "bridge rights" why they could follow their instinctand go an ultimate half-gainer into the bay.
And they'd be saving the planet at the same time because they'd be blocking traffic day and night.
Just a thought . . .
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