Blogs Mar 9, 2010 at 10:38 am

Hey, That's Our Bridge!

Bethany Jean Clement
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Comments

1
Um. Can't they presumably just jump off the barrier?
RaindogBride on March 9, 2010 at 10:48 AM Report this
2
Have you ever walked across that thing? The entire time you feel as though the police might show up to check on your intentions. "I'm just walking across the bridge..."
Lacking Creativity on March 9, 2010 at 10:50 AM Report this
3
You know, we could sell tickets for people to watch folks plunge to their death (or a world of paralysis). Think of the extra revenue we could raise for the City of Seattle.
Cato the Younger Younger on March 9, 2010 at 10:55 AM Report this
4
I'm not really a fan of the "stop wasting my tax dollars" but hot damn....this project is ripe for those accusations....
Andy_Squirrel on March 9, 2010 at 10:56 AM Report this
5
that bridge is so fucking beautiful.

on March 9, 2010 at 10:57 AM Report this
6
Why, oh why is there always some idiot like @ 1 who says "can't they jump off the barrier?" Have you ever seen a suicide prevention barrier? They go up several feet, the curve backward so that you have to hang upside down like a fly in order to get to the top. Sometimes they put razor wire on them too.

Oh yeah, they'll just climb over that. Numbnuts.
Matt from Denver on March 9, 2010 at 11:01 AM Report this
7
it looks like a prison that the majority of us will have to live inside because of the few who will jump.
Max Solomon on March 9, 2010 at 11:07 AM Report this
8
BTW, it's always fun whenever there's a Slog about this. You really get to find out who has no compassion on these threads.
Matt from Denver on March 9, 2010 at 11:10 AM Report this
9
A buddy of mine used to live in the apartment house across the street from the troll. Next door lived a guy, call him Donny, who was the very archetype of semi-functional hippie slackerdom, and was relied upon by a great many people for access to every sort of intoxicant that springs naturally from the earth.

Donny related later his first thought as a metro bus came plunging over the side of the bridge one day and landed in the yard just a few feet away from where he stood:

"These shrooms can not be that good."
Eric Arrr on March 9, 2010 at 11:12 AM Report this
10
Hey, I fucking have compassion!! I just think it's an untapped source of revenue for Seattle.
Cato the Younger Younger on March 9, 2010 at 11:17 AM Report this
11
It is a fact that creating barriers to potential suicide locations actually prevents suicides and not just delay them.
You see a few days later they sober up and realize what a silly thing to feel bad about in the first place. Life is ALWAYS full of BOTH ups and downs so if you are experiencing a big down in your life, something very good is on its way.
Bill W. on March 9, 2010 at 11:20 AM Report this
12
They're still going to jump.

Now they'll jump somewhere else.

Seriously, this is a frickin waste of time.
Will in Seattle on March 9, 2010 at 11:36 AM Report this
13
By the way, when they do this, will there be some artwork under the 1 percent for art set aside?

I envision a fairy, wings on fire, falling down into a toothy-grinned maw in the canal ...
Will in Seattle on March 9, 2010 at 11:38 AM Report this
14
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! All of us must now suffer because of the actions of few. If they want to jump let them! Who are we to say?

The design is so ugly. The bridge will now be more depressing which will lead to more suicides. It is a snake eating itself!BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! BOO, I say!
I'm 85 Years Old on March 9, 2010 at 11:39 AM Report this
15
Speaking of suicide barriers - does the Denny bridge over I-% only have a barrier on the north side of the street? What's up with that? I always get freaked out walking home over that thing.
ly_yng on March 9, 2010 at 11:40 AM Report this
16
Oh, and those who say that people who are anti this "suicide barrier" have no compassion: Do you really think this is an effective solution to people that want to kill themselves? This is the easiest thing to do is all that it is. They already tried an easier "fix" in those phones, just ignore the problem. This is just a much uglier phone that we must all deal with.
I'm 85 Years Old on March 9, 2010 at 11:51 AM Report this
17
I suspect that the barrier on Denny over I-5 is to protect a traffic camera or freeway sign since it only spans a few meters.
josh on March 9, 2010 at 11:52 AM Report this
18
@17 - or to stop people from throwing rocks.
Will in Seattle on March 9, 2010 at 11:58 AM Report this
19
Paint bulls-eyes on the ground. I imagine it'd really kill the vibe and people would just move along.
Dougsf on March 9, 2010 at 12:30 PM Report this
20
Maybe the fence will allow people to stand on the bridge during fireworks. Seems like the cops keep people off the sidewalk because of the worry that a crush of people might push people over the railing.
Mr John on March 9, 2010 at 12:33 PM Report this
21
You see a few days later they sober up and realize what a silly thing to feel bad about in the first place. Life is ALWAYS full of BOTH ups and downs so if you are experiencing a big down in your life, something very good is on its way.


That is the most shit headed description of depression and mental illness I've ever seen.
keshmeshi on March 9, 2010 at 1:00 PM Report this
22
Why not just get rid of the sidewalks and make the roadway wider? How often do people actually walk from one end of the bridge to the other? I don't think I've ever seen a pedestrian on the bridge.
Sean P. on March 9, 2010 at 1:14 PM Report this
23
I'd like to see the figures on the number of suicides before and after the suicide phones were installed, but since the number and frequency of jumpers is kept secret, I doubt we'll ever know.

Full disclosure: for the better part of nine years I've worked in Fremont with a view of the bridge. I used to ride my bike under it every day--never seen a jumper.
tiktok on March 9, 2010 at 1:50 PM Report this
24
Suicide barriers don't work because they make it impossible for people to commit suicide, they work because they make it more difficult to commit suicide. If you're trying to commit suicide you're in a giving up mood anyway.
on March 9, 2010 at 4:04 PM Report this
25
Waste of money. $10-15M.

There is no research that the barriers actually reduce the number of suicides, rather than simply shifting location or method. Further, the recidivism rate of attempted suicides is very high, so even if the barriers were effective, it would be pretty useless.

How many people who aren't going to end up killing themselves later could be saved with that money? Why should we care more for the jumpers than for the hungry or poor?
on March 10, 2010 at 12:22 AM Report this

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