Two Meetings on Colorado Street Bridge Fix Set for This Week, Full-Size Mockups Come Next

Two meetings slated for this week will address proposed design measures for preventing suicides from the Colorado Street Bridge. These will be followed in January with full-sized mockups on the Bridge itself of the public’s most favored options.

Pasadena’s Department of Public Works will brief the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 18, on efforts at getting support from community stakeholders for the four most popular options to date.

On Thursday, Dec. 19, the Department meets with Pasadena Heritage to review inputs on the design options from the Historic Preservation Commission, the Design Commission, and Public Safety Committee.

The input whatever plan to install full-scale mock-ups of the proposed concepts on the bridge for the public to view and assess is decided upon.

The mock-ups should be ready next month. Follow-up reviews by the Design and Historic Preservation Commissions are possible in February or 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 at least once – on November 15. Pasadena Heritage also provide 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.

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

Before this, the installation of emergency fencing on the sides of the bridge in 2017 is said to have 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 in January, the Public Works Department could already provide a fiscal impact analysis for the City Council.