City Seeks Public Input on Colorado Street Bridge Vertical Barrier Design Concepts

The public is invited to review the full-scale barrier mock-ups online of the Colorado Street Bridge barriers and share their comments with the City of Pasadena at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CGJL5J8 by May 31.

A contractor recently completed the fabrication and installation of full-scale mock-up panels of three vertical barrier design concepts on the historic bridge.

The panels are installed at two separate locations along the bridge to provide different vantage points for visualization.

Photos of the barrier mock-ups in addition to drone footage will soon be available on the project webpage

The City began seeking a permanent and responsibly-designed enhancement to the Colorado Street Bridge railing in 2017 to serve as an effective suicide deterrent while preserving the national historic character and significance of the bridge.

Eight people leapt to their deaths from the bridge in 2017.

That year, City Manager Steve Mermell declared a local emergency after police spent 13 hours successfully talking a jumper down during Labor Day weekend.

Using his emergency powers, Mermell spent $295,932 on fencing to span both sides of the 1,400-foot-long bridge.

“We can’t wait for another year while we grind our way through the approval process and funding process. We need to do something,” Mermell said at the time. “It’s an emergency and we need to intervene right now.”

Since then, the Department of Public Works and 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 Public Safety Committee.

In early 2020, the Public Safety Committee requested full-scale mock-ups be constructed of the preferred designs for better visualization and evaluation by the public before choosing a specific design concept.

The Department of Public Works and Donald MacDonald Architects will host a virtual open house from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, to review the three design options with the community, present photos/videos of the mock-ups, and introduce the City’s project webpage, along with the online public opinion survey. There will also be an opportunity for Q&A.

The virtual open house will be recorded and available on the project’s webpage for those unable to attend the live session.

Following the open house, the Department of Public Works will meet with the City’s Historic Preservation Commission, the Design Commission and the Public Safety Committee to share public feedback, and seek advice and recommendations on a single barrier design to take to the City Council for approval. Presentation to the Historic Preservation Commission is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, April 20.

Visit the project webpage for additional details. Questions regarding the project should be directed to the project team at ColoradoStBridge@cityofpasadena.net.