Public Safety Committee Will Move Closer to Finalizing Colorado Street Bridge Suicide Mitigation Design

The City Council’s Public Safety Committee will deliberate on proposed design measures to prevent suicides from the Colorado Street Bridge at tonight’s meeting.

According to information provided by the Department of Public Works, full-sized mockups of the public’s preferred options will be constructed on the bridge within the next two months so the public can view them and assess each of the options before a final version is decided on.

Development of the project and the design concepts spun out of recommendations from the Colorado Street Bridge Task Force which was created in April 2018.

Before this, emergency fencing installed on the sides of the bridge in 2017 contributed to a dramatic drop in the number of suicide attempts, from eight cases in 2017 to just three in 2018, or a 63 percent drop, according to Pasadena Police Department records.

Based on public feedback and inputs from the concerned City commissions after the mock-ups are put up, the Public Works Department will provide a fiscal impact analysis for the City Council.

In December, the Public Works Department met with Pasadena Heritage to review input on the design options from the Historic Preservation, the Design Commission, and the Public Safety Committee.

After the mock-ups are installed, follow-up reviews by the Design and Historic Preservation commissions are possible in March, with a final decision by the City Council anticipated by April.

According to the concept presentations by Public Works, the four installation options include a vertical framed flexible mesh of up to 14 feet high, with or without a vertical post; a vertical frame with rods or pickets up to 15 feet high; and a curved frame (frame curving inward) with rigid mesh. These designs have reportedly been selected based on popular support in public meetings.

Public Works said it has conducted two public meetings – on September 26 and October 26 – and met with Pasadena Heritage representatives on November 15. Pasadena Heritage also provided additional recommendations to improve the vertical barrier system.

The four design concepts were finalized by the Department and MacDonald Architects, which was awarded the environmental review and design contract last May for the project, officially referred to as the Colorado Street Bridge Suicide Mitigation Enhancements project.