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Since City Manager Steve Mermell took emergency actions to mitigate suicides on the Colorado Street Bridge, fatal incidents have dropped sharply, according to data in this week’s agenda for the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.
In 2017, 10 people jumped to their deaths from the bridge, 22 others either were talked down, climbed out on the bridge or were standing nearby contemplating suicide.
Mermell declared a local emergency that year 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.
Pasadena’s Department of Public Works will present an update on the vertical design concepts for the suicide mitigation project on the bridge at its meeting on Wednesday.
Since 2017, only five people have fallen to their death from the bridge, 65 other people were involved in suicidal incidents on the bridge, including one person who jumped from the bridge this year.
The Public Works Department will detail three concepts for the suicide mitigation measures on the bridge that have been circulated among members of the community.
“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,” said Public Works Acting Director Kris Markarian: 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 three years, Public Works has been collaborating with the community and the project’s Task Force comprised of local experts in the field of architecture, historic preservation, engineering and mental health along with City’s first responders to evaluate various types of mitigation measures and develop vertical barrier design concepts in deterring attempts. Alongside the Task Force, concepts were developed and refined by the City’s design consultant, Donald McDonald Architects taking into consideration feedback and advisement from the community, Pasadena Heritage, City’s Historic Preservation Commission, the Design Commission and the Public Safety Committee.”
Staff will also present recommendations on how best to proceed after the consultations and presentations are completed.
The report will include how much support each of the three concepts has received from the public and City departments and Commissions through these series of consultations as well as results of an online survey conducted between March and May this year. Public Works said 2,268 responses were received in the online survey, although only 1,038 ranked the mock-ups installed on the bridge.
Of the 1,038, about 44 percent said they favored Option A among the three concepts – installing a “mesh curved-curved” barrier on the side of the bridge. Fifty-nine percent listed Option C, known as “picket straight-straight,” as their least favored option, the Public Works Department said.
After presentations of the mockups in April and May, a majority of the members of the Historic Preservation Commission voted to recommend Option B of the concepts; the Design Commission’s consensus was that further study of concepts that incorporated more transparency at the alcoves and light poles and maintained the height of the pedestal light should be pursued.
Design Commission members preferred the straight mesh panels, similar to Option A, between the alcoves, with an added gap between the bottom of the panels and the top of the balustrade, the report said.
The Public Works Department also explored alternative concepts for fully enclosing the bridge, in response to a request by Councilmember John Kennedy, although these have not been vetted through the public outreach process nor presented to the Design and Historic Preservation Commissions.
The report said the concept was presented to the project’s Task Force members, including Pasadena Heritage and the City’s police and fire departments, but both groups did not see the concept as acceptable from either an aesthetic or safety point of view.
With Wednesday’s presentation, the Public Works Department hopes to enlighten the Public Safety Committee as the Committee prepares to make a recommendation on which between Option A and B the City Council should consider for implementation.
The City Council has appropriated $1,050,000 to the Colorado Bridge Barrier Enhancements CIP Project, which has been spent for installing and maintaining the temporary 10-foot chain link fence, for designing and installing the mock-up panels, and for the preliminary environmental assessment and conceptual design, including the community outreach activities.
The Public Works Department estimates the cost for completion of design and construction to cost between $4 million and $6 million, with a final figure to be submitted once the City Council determines the final design option.
Wednesday’s special meeting can be accessed through http://pasadena.granicus.com/
The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m.
The National Suicide Hotlines are available 24/7 at 1-800 SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) and 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
Additional help is available at the Didi Hirsch 24-hour Crisis Line: 1-877-727-4747 (en Español: 1-800-628-9454)
LGBTQ – The Trevor Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386
Trans Crisis Line: 1-877-565-8860
Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741-741
People of Color Crisis Text Line: Text STEVE to 741-741
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