City council to explore suicide barriers on Granville Bridge
After rejecting the idea last year, Vancouver council voted Thursday to study installing barriers. Advocates say they work and save lives.
Vancouver city council has voted to look into installing suicide barriers on the Granville Bridge, reversing its earlier rejection of a fast-track proposal.
Since 2019, there have been almost two dozen incidents involving distraught people on the bridge. Last month, a woman fell to her death, prompting renewed calls from mental health advocates and Granville Island officials for barriers.
Stacy Ashton, Crisis Centre BC, said barriers are essential. "The importance of a suicide bridge barrier is that we know that they work and that they save lives," she said. "They stop people who are in very painful moments from making a mistake that they aren't going to be able to take back."
The Burrard Street Bridge, which received barriers in 2017, has recorded no incidents since installation. Advocates argue the barriers prevent impulsive deaths by providing a moment of pause during mental health crises, and that each loss creates rippling grief and trauma throughout the community.