City Hosts Virtual Open House Today on Colorado Street Bridge Vertical Barrier Designs

The Pasadena Department of Public Works and Donald MacDonald Architects will host a virtual open house from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, to review the three design options for suicide prevention measures being planned for the Colorado Street Bridge.

In June 2017, the city began the installation of 10-foot high fencing along the bridge, which remains in place today as a temporary measure of dissuasion for suicide attempts.

The city is seeking a permanent and responsibly-designed enhancement to the bridge railing to serve as an effective deterrent while preserving the national historic character and significance of the bridge. The vision of the City is to allow the community to experience and enjoy the Colorado Street Bridge and the Arroyo as a safe and beautiful environment now and in the future.

Over the past two years, the City’s Public Works Department and renowned architect Donald MacDonald Architects have engaged the public in developing barrier design options, taking into consideration the feedback and advisement of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, the Design Commission and the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

On Feb. 3, 2020, three refined design concepts were presented to the Public Safety Committee for their recommendations. As with the commissioners, the consensus among committee members was that full-scale mock-ups should be constructed of the preferred designs for better visualization and evaluation by the public before a specific design concept could be chosen.

Pursuant to that directive, the Public Works Department hired a contractor and has completed the fabrication and installation of full-scale mock-up panels of the top three preferred vertical barrier design concepts with two mesh options.

The full-scale mock-ups are now available for public viewing. Panels are installed at two separate locations along the bridge to provide different vantage points for both “on the bridge” and “of the bridge” visualization. (See Map)

Due to COVID-19 regulations, the city requests that the public avoid gathering in groups on the bridge to view these mock-ups. Safely driving by and viewing these installations from your vehicle is encouraged to maintain social distancing requirements.

The public is invited to review the full-scale barrier mock-ups and mesh options below and share their opinion and comments with the city via a public opinion survey. To participate in the survey, click Community Feedback Survey.

Subsequent to the Open House, Public Works will return to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, Design Commission and the Public Safety Committee to share public’s feedback and seek advisement and recommendations to take to the City Council for their approval of a single design as the preferred barrier enhancement.

Street Bridge. For additional information on upcoming meeting dates and times, please refer to the Upcoming Events section for updates.

For more information, visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/public-works/engineering-and-construction/construction/colorado-street-bridge/.