Gleaming stainless steel nets installed 20 feet below the sidewalk have cut Golden Gate Bridge suicides by 80 percent since they were installed over a year ago. A recent teen suicide off the Noyo River Bridge has left the Fort Bragg community heartbroken. Could similar nets stop future deaths in Fort Bragg?
That’s the question top Fort Bragg leaders want to explore at a Thursday meeting with three Caltrans regional directors, Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka told the city’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
The city is seeking state help to prevent suicides off the 110-foot-tall State Route 1 bridge that provides a grand entrance to Fort Bragg for travelers coming from the south. Other ideas to be discussed included new AEye technology that can detect people likely to jump and other tracking technology that allows a jumper to be tracked and found more quickly, even at night. Such measures would require permission to install from Caltrans. Cervenka said the agency has previously resisted modifications to the bridge, including a city proposal for license plate readers. even though the city offered to pay maintenance costs..
Following the Dec. 7 suicide of a Fort Bragg High School student, Cervenka reached out to Caltrans and the offices of State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Chris Rogers to find ways to prevent future deaths on the bridge. Fort Bragg Mayor Jason Godeke, Cervenka, and Supervisor Bernie Norvell were set to meet by Zoom with the three Caltrans regional directors and staff of the state representatives on Thursday.
Cervenka told the Public Safety Committee that police have responded to 15 suicide attempts and six confirmed jumps from the bridge since 2011. Cervenka told the committee that was too many for the small community. In written comments, the chief said the total number of jumps is not known, as there are missing people unaccounted for. Jumps that happen at night might go unnoticed.
When it came time for public comments, residents asked the Public Safety Committee if a fence atop the bridge would be better than a stainless steel net below. Teacher Andy Wellspring and Gowan Batist of Fortunate Farm suggested fencing might be more effective.
While suicide nets are invisible to travelers, putting nets up would reverse one of the Fort Bragg community’s biggest accomplishments. In the first years of the 21st century, Community members fought and won against Caltrans’ plans for what they deemed ugly concrete railings. Locals convinced the Coastal Commission to help make the new Noyo Bridge the first bridge to essentially invisible rails. Ever since, the bridge provides the only panoramic ocean view to people driving through Fort Bragg.
Teen suicide rates have spiked since, especially among girls and trans people..
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looking at suicidal behaviors from 2019 to 2021 found 13 percent of high school girls had attempted suicide and 30 percent had seriously considered it. In comparison, suicidal ideation and attempts remained stable for mail students. According to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ youth, 45 percent of LGBTQ+ teens had seriously considered suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youths 10- to 14-year-olds.
Teacher and activist Wellspring said suicide education has unfortunately become a more important part of the job of an educator today. He said the 42-inch rails on the Noyo Bridge were so low he was scared the one time he walked over the bridge. He said someone could throw another person from the bridge. And the low rails might even help prompt suicidal thoughts. as a person gets that rush looking over the edge. Suicidal ideation is the first step toward an actual suicide.“Suicidal ideation works differently for different people,” he said.
Wellspring said views should not take precedence over lives.
“Views should not be the determining factor here, “ Batist said.
She suggested that lightweight and strong fencing might come with the dual advantage of being impossible to climb and easy to see through.
Those low scenic rails have caused other problems.
Cervenka said people have thrown things as large as a bicycle over the bridge, sometimes at boats passing below. Lindy Peters, chair of the Public Safety Committee, described how the spectacular view causes minor car crashes too. Tourists go slow and are distracted by the views, while locals often go too fast. Peters suggested the type of that is used on freeway overpasses which curves back overhead.
“You would have to be Spider Man to climb over that kind of fence, you would have to literally go back upside down and back over. And yet, the view obstruction isn't that bad, Peters said.
Cervenka, who spent much of his law enforcement career in the Central Valley remarked that all freeway overpasses there have that type of fencing..
Cervenka said the proposal was for nets, not fencing, because the Coastal Commission has long opposed anything that would block views. The Coastal Commission’s mandates include as much public access to the ocean as can be safely provided.
Cervenka said falls from more than 90 feet were almost always fatal. He said people have survived the jump but suffered serious injuries.
There have been 1400 bodies recovered of Golden Gate Bridge jumpers since the bridge was built. The suicide nets, completed two years ago, have not just cut the successful suicides by 80 percent they have greatly reduced the hundreds of attempted suicides. People are no longer coming to the bridge to jump and if they do, looking down and seeing the steel nets has stopped them.
But would people just find a way to kill themselves anyway if thwarted by nets below or fences above on the bridge?
Batist said many in the community discussion following the teen’s suicide have argued that suicide is inevitable in the suicidal.
“The science does not support that,” she said, also describing how a family member once jumped from the Noyo bridge.
Science also offers proof in numerous studies that taking away an easy method of suicide can permanently reduce suicides, mostly be convincing someone to finally seek the treatment they need.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)or dial/text 988
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
Mental Health America – Centro de Recursos de Salud Mental en Español website
Línea directa nacional española de prevención del suicidio 1-888-628-9454
Mendocino County Crisis Hotline 1-855-838-0404The Crisis Line is for someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis and needs help right away. The line is toll-free and open 24/7.
