Suicide prevention net on Golden Gate bridge cut deaths in half last year, officials say

While still under construction, the suicide prevention net on the Golden Gate Bridge showed significant results in 2023 and is expected to continue to reduce deaths this year, officials said.

Last year, officials recorded 14 confirmed suicides from the bridge, down from an annual average of 30. This year, the number is expected to be even lower, according to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

The net is made of “marine-grade stainless steel netting installed 20 feet below the sidewalks on the bridge and extending out 20 feet over the water,” the district said in a written statement.

At a commemoration ceremony held in mid-July, local leaders spoke about the multiyear project that began in 2018 and was completed in early 2024.

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The net was originally scheduled to be completed in 2021, but infighting between builders and the government caused delays and cost overruns.

“The Golden Gate Bridge is a source of immense pride to San Francisco — but for too many families in our community, the bridge has also been a place of pain,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for 37 years. “With the completion of a suicide deterrent system for the Golden Gate Bridge, we are providing a critical second chance for troubled individuals.”

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Ultimately, the project cost about $224 million, the transportation district said — well over the 2014 estimate of $76 million when it was approved but also much less than the $398 million figure cited in a 2022 lawsuit between contractors and the district.

The net’s purpose is to deter would-be jumpers and save those who do jump from death. Still, being caught by the net “is designed to be painful and may result in significant injury,” the transportation district said.

A 2017 study in Switzerland found that barriers and nets on bridges reduce suicides by up to 77%. In Pasadena, the City Council is considering suicide prevention barriers on the Colorado Street Bridge, according to Pasadena Now.

At the Golden Gate Bridge ceremony, Kymberlyrenee Gamboa spoke about the loss of her 18-year-old son, who jumped from the bridge in 2013.

The project’s completion “brings a profound sense of hope and healing in knowing that future families may be spared from enduring such a devastating loss,” she said.