Construction starts next week to extend euphemistically named
“safety barriers” across the length of the Macdonald Bridge, along both
the pedestrian walkway on the south side of the bridge and the bicycle
lane along the north side of the bridge.
The new barriers will match the existing barriers that extend only
so far as the water’s edge on both sides of the western end of the
bridge. Those barriers were erected in August of 2007 in response to a
lawsuit from the Department of Defence; the case file for the suit
references repeated suicide victims falling on DND property and
endangering DND employees.
Last year, Coast writer Matt Aikins won an Atlantic Journalism Award
and a Canadian Association of Journalists Award for his piece “Adam’s
fall,” which examined suicides from the bridge, and argued that suicide
barriers should be extended across the bridge.
Subsequently, The Coast has filed a Freedom of Information Act
request for statistics on bridge suicides. That request was denied, but
is under appeal.
Bridge authorities assert that the new construction is unrelated.
—TB
Related Stories
“Adam’s fall” wins Canadian Journalism Award
Matt Aikins wins Atlantic Journalism Award for enterprising reporting
Adam’s fall
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
the only effective ‘barrier’ to suicide is counselling and medical treatment.
erecting ugly steel bars on a bridge does NOTHING (except pay lip service) to address the underlying psychological anguish that torments the minds of those troubled souls who are contemplating suicide.
‘safety barriers’ are just another (typical) knee-jerk, half-assed response to a complex set of social issues. those who are determined to kill themselves WILL find a way. what they need (and deserve) is psychological HELP and compassion, so that they may one day overcome their own ‘barriers’.
more (and ever more) steel bars and barricades only serve to reinforce their (and our) collective angst & psychosis.
meh, ‘suicide barriers’ are simply about liability & money anyway – not actually saving lives or helping people who are in distress. on no, comprehensive mental health services, that’s too costly – let’s just put up some steel bars instead, and shift the problem elsewhere.
i really hate our idiot politicians
Techcafe– you’re simply wrong. “Means reduction” is a proven way to reduce the risk of suicide. Yes, it should be accompanied by counselling, etc., but one thing we should definitely do is take away opportunity.
It’s not me saying this— please read Matt’s article, linked to just above, to see what the experts say.
We’ll soon see the day when the government issues bubble wrap suits for the taxpayers to wear as they don’t want us making any decision for ourselves cause gawd knows not everyone is going to make a proper choice in the government’s eye. Hopefully they remember to use flame retardent bubble wrap.
Next will be the banning of razor blades and knives cause those can be deadly tools in the wrong hands so we’ll be forced to wear beards and tear our food apart by hand. Electric razors are out of the question as the cord could be tied and used to hang from and lets not even mention the lethal current carried by that same cord. They better make sure edges of the bags containing the no-cutting-needed meals can’t give papercuts.
Could someone please tell big brother they can’t save everyone… especially those who are determined to kill themselves. All that results is money being spent on stuff that will never erradicate the suicide opportunities and waster money that could be going to more worthwhile causes – like mental health programs.
“The Coast has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for statistics on bridge suicides. That request was denied…”
so-called suicide ‘experts’ aside, Tim… i think i’d like to see those bridge suicide statistics before reconsidering my position on whether we actually *need* suicide barriers – or not. at this point, i believe the decision to go ahead with erecting a barrier has more to do with liability (money)… and political opportunism, of course.
and this creeping paternalism of our government(s) is really starting to creep me out. as voice_of_reason asks, what next… flame retardent body wrap for everyone and a ban on sharp objects, etc?
we don’t all need nurse-maiding or to be ‘protected’ from ourselves – yet that seems to be the current trend, the direction we are now headed.
on the other hand, what is life without a little risk?
or how about, what is the point in living if you can’t feel ALIVE??
perhaps the ‘experts’ might want to ponder over those questions, before rushing to judgement about what they ‘think’ is good for everyone.
So The Coast thinks it is responsilble for this work, spare me…mental health groups have been talking and working with the Bridge Commission for years. Please give credit where it is due. Now, I will provide The Coast with lots of credit, some news items are only covered here, so thanks for that work. Be well
I previously left a comment on an article similar to this entitled “Macdonald Bridge to get suicide barriers.” My comments were:
“Not that I am against the ‘suicide barriers’ but I do agree that the Coast shouldn’t label them as such. If a person is committed to suicide they will find another way to do it. It’s not like someone is going to go “Oh the barriers are there, guess I can’t end my life today.” It will eliminate the attraction to committing suicide at that location, but not overall.”
I received this as a response:
“”If a person is committed to suicide they will find another way to do it.”
This sounds so sensible, but it’s not the case: read Matt’s article to see why. “Means reduction” works.”
And so I wrote….
“I do appreciate the information being brought to my attention, and yes this “means reduction” works, but there is still going to be people after the barriers are in place who go through the “suicide phase” that Dr. Leenaars describes and its still going to happen. Perhaps The Coast should rally for more mental health programs within the HRM to further prevent suicides. If Adam had been followed more closely, even escorted home then it could have been prevented and it baffles me that he wasn’t if he was notified to the bridge security about being a suicide risk. The police get very little training when it comes to dealing with persons who have mental health issues. More awareness of mental health issues needs to be made not only for the prevention of suicides but also to reduce public discrimination against other disorders as well.”
I stand by my statement, and I don’t understand why the Coast feel like they some how need to be the ‘hero’ in this situation. Its great that the barriers are going up, but again, this physical barrier is not going to help someone mentally. Rally for those mental health programs.
I also agree with keith1960. I do feel The Coast is reporting this in a gloating sort of way. The attitude seems very ‘fight the power’ just to prove a point. Report the good news and be settled with it.
Great, I’ve always thought there should be an annual black-tie gala/fundraiser party held in the middle of the bridge for some charitable organization or another. It’s a beautiful view that few get to ever enjoy for more than a few seconds. Sadly, people, alcohol and suspension bridges as the article points out, don’t always have the best history so maybe this will bring my bridge party dream closer to reality:)
Keep after them for those stats. Without them, we can’t compare before/after rates of suicide to determine if the barriers make a difference to warrant the public investment.
See they put a suicide barrier on the Macdonald Bridge…The jumpers will just go to the Mackay bridge.
it’s not about the ‘public investment’, issmat – unless you’re talking about the arsehole politicians who’d rather erect steel bars on bridges (because it’s cheaper) than *investing* money in comprehensive mental health services. we ‘might’ be more concerned about tackling the root causes of suicide; it is a social problem, after all. b/c it’s certainly not ‘normal’ to get the inclination to kill yourself. so, where’s the research? the medical/social sciences ‘experts’ should be all over this stuff. get at the underlying causes (if any)… like socioeconomic factors, victim of discrimination/persecution, depression, violence in the home, drug addiction, yadayadayada… a morbid hate-on for humanity maybe?? who the hell knows why *some* people will want/need to kill themselves? BUT, we can (and probably should) at least TRY to figure that out – maybe even *prevent* the suffering that (for some) leads to suicidal ideations in the first place.
or we can go with the tried & true, quite typical *reaction* of our politicians, which apparently is to conjure up more (and more) ‘barriers’ to social problems. yeah, we may ‘fix’ the symptom, but we’ve done nothing to cure the disease. meanwhile, we ALL go on suffering… our loved ones having lost their WILL to live, continue to suffer/die. but not to worry, our fearless political ‘leaders’ have pre-occupied themselves with installing new hardware on the bridges. just make the problem magically ‘disappear’. throw up some steel bars… tada! problem ‘solved’. out of sight, and out of mind. that is, until it becomes a ‘problem’ again, somewhere else or by some other means.
suicide barriers are, at best, half-measures; without *actual* science (not ‘means reduction’) that examines the root social causes that lead to suicide. then maybe, we can be more proactive about preventing them.
but then on the other hand, maybe suicide isn’t going away, perhaps that’s just life; no matter how many ‘barriers’ we put in *everyone’s* way – *some individuals* just don’t wanna be ‘here’. if they really wanna ‘go’, they ARE going to find a way, come hell or high water… and/or ‘suicide barriers’
the problem isn’t with the bridge… suicide is a social problem, which cannot be ‘fixed’ by merely erecting some steel bars. think about it.
Thanks for the Coasts article on Adams Fall (my son was Adam) Without that article I would have never had the energy to take on the “mission” of lobbying for these barriers. I am reading a great deal about what other people think of this decision to erect the barriers. I would hope those people never have to deal with losing anyone to suicide. There were some great comments about mental health and I respect those. I do not respect those that choose to make insensitive comments. There are some people that get themselves into a position, a deep hole, that they might have never experienced before and may never again. Being let go from a police station, having some alcohol in your system, being alone and scared and feeling helpless (at the fragile age of 19) a walk that leads you to a bridge,…the dark hole consumes you and 40 minutes on that bridge, no one answers your calls…no barriers on the bridge and impulsively you jump…there is no return!!! Did I fail to mention that there was no previous history of mental illness? Whether the barrier would have saved Adams life or not, just the chance that he would have gotten through that moment is enough for me to realize that even one life saved is worth the mere dollars spent on this barrier. The money is generated through the tolls anyway. Government had nothing to do with this decision. I was like many of you, I never thought of those that were affected by suicide, I never realized the pain of those left behind. My life was turned into hell with one split second when my son chose to leave the pain he was feeling at that moment!!! If it happened to our family it could happen to anyones. Take time to educate yourselves before you decide to write heartless things in papers. To techcafe and your comments that you made….please tell me what you consider means reduction would be if its not barriers on a bridge???? Is saving ONE life not worth $500,000.00??? Is there a price on a life??? If i knew that $500,000 would save my sons life i would have gotten the money somehow!!! i have nothing to gain from these barriers now, I cannot bring my son back but I sure as hell feel that my lobbying and many others that helped to lobby will have helped to save lives…you can gaurentee it!!! Please consider your words before you decide to post them publicly. One of Adams friends really made me think when she stated, “even negative things that are said about suicide is at least getting people to talk about it” By talking we can be educated to the facts and perhaps reduce stigma that goes with it.
Carol Cashen
I have been reading over “Doubtful’s” previous comments on other topics and I see that he is either a lawyer or doctor. All I can say is “scary” …I hope your not a Mental Health Physician….
Ummm Carol, yes the money is going to come from the tolls but you know that takes away money from the normal purpose of those funds: maintenance, operations/labour and paying off the enormous debt on the bridges.
Sorry your son made a bad choice when other resources might have been able to help him over the “rough spot” in his life but the half-million dollars won’t stop people from killing themselves, it will simply move the problem elsewhere. People will go from bridge jumping to throwing themselves in front of truck and buses on highways – what do you suggest we do at that point?? Fence off the side of every road?
A good example occured in the early 2000’s when a fellow on a highway outside of Shediac NB hid behind a highway overpass pillar and ran out in front of an empty school bus travelling at 100kms in the dark. The driver never had a chance to react yet is scarred for life. I understand he took a non-driving school district job after the incident.
It wouldn’t have been so bad had the fellow used a method that didn’t directly involve someone just going about his day. I’d say jumping off a bridge and hitting the water is less traumatic for the public versus running into the path of a Link bus zooming along Magazine Hill.
I’m sorry if my comments come across as cold and heartless, they aren’t meant that way and I had a good friend hang himself just after high school over a stupid issue re. a girlfriend so I do know how it affects people.
Carol,
half a million dollars is indeed a small amount, but i wonder how many more lives could be spared IF we focused our (your) attention/energy on ‘suicide’ in and of itself – and not so much on stopgap measures – such as ‘means reduction’
i am sorry about your son
Mrs. Cashen, I do appreciate you posting your comments on this issue, and I am glad you recognize the need for mental health programs and decreasing the stigmatization of suicide. I re-read the “Adam’s Fall” article several times and still cannot seem to get passed that fact that he was notified to bridge security but yet he was still able to walk across the bridge alone. I do believe the barriers are important but other measures are of equal importance, and I just don’t believe that The Coast approached the situation the right way. The barriers seem to be a band-aid on a much bigger situation.
I would really appreciate if the Coast would stop patting themselves on the back over this issue. You won an award, good for you. Now shut the fuck up about it. Hundreds of people have died jumping off the bridge and THAT is why the barriers were built. Yes, you wrote an excellent piece and shed light on the issue.
Now stop gloating about it and have some humility.
Means reduction is just one way to address the issue, its just ONE measure that may help some and not others, just like seatbelts may save some lives but not ALL lives!!! ….Much of my “energys” are put to the prevention, intervention and postvention work of suicide…not just means reduction. Something that we can ALL do as we ALL know someone that suffers with mental health issues, perhaps acutely or chronically! Keep talking about the issue…I love it….it means that more awareness is being made! Whether your comments are negative or positive at least your thinking about it!!!!
Means reduction is just one way to address this issue, much like seatbelt use…not all lives will be saved by the use of seatbelts but its been proven that many lives have been saved by their use. Not all lives will be saved by means reduction, but it has been PROVEN that some lives have been saved..common sense right??? So, do we abide by the seatbelt rule based on facts??? Then why not take that another step forward and think the same way with regards to suicide.
With regards to the comment on using “my energy” on suicide both inside/outside of its self. I certainly do that on a daily basis. By advocating, educating, working on provincial committees for suicide intervention, prevention and postvention. Also working with Youth Mental Health agencies. I have recognized that there is much more to this issue but have NOT lost the fact that means reduction plays a huge factor in prevention. There will always be stories of when it doesn’t work, more importantly there are those, that should be told, that DO work. I appreciate reading all the comments, both negative and positive, it means we are actually talking about the issue now…something we haven’t done before!!!!!
At least 4 people jumped off the bridges in the last three weeks – one off the MacKay. Two were women. I am all for the safety barriers, though they came too late for one of my friends.
Great work Coast on the Adam’s Fall and keeping the coverage up on the suicide barriers.
I am all for the bridge finishing the barriers all the way across the bridge. My friend recently jumped. Those barriers would have kept her from jumping, and saved her family & friends from the extremely immense horrible grief and guilt.
It is worth the money to save others. And I think people would be surprised that not just men have jumped to their deaths off the bridge, but women too.
Just because someone thinks about killing themselves.. if the barrier is there, they may not decide to kill themselves.
And that barrier is more than enough reason for tax payers to spend the money.
Sure it maybe a bandaid for now, but for now, that is the best society has to offer.
They will find some place else to jump from. Plenty of apt buildings have unlocked roof access. heck there are overpass, bridges over train tracks, etc. These barriers are just going to make the bridge look awful.
Bring out the bubble wrap and all kinds of legislation that ensures the public can’t possibly make their own decisions – whether good or bad ones. People like Ms. Cashen are opening the door to more regulations when common sense says those same regulations (and the attached expenses) won’t stop the problem, they will simply move the problem to another area.
I understand she’s hurt and bothered by what her son did but you know some of us are tired of babysitting those who won’t seek out the psych help that is readily available at the Abby Lane and NSH facilities. Some of us also see better uses for the half-million bucks, such as funding for new mental health and suicide prevention programs that will assist more people than barriers on one bridge.
And now I see in the Herald that the mother of a recent bridge jumper plans on suing the province. I have to ask what she thinks will be the advantages, especially when any awarded money will come out of funds designated for provincial programs. She might get a bit of cash but then she’ll be the same one bitching that programs don’t have enough cash to complete their mandates.
And even if insurance pays out a settlement, we the taxpayers will be left footing the bill next year as insurance co’s don’t like to operate at a loss and will recoup the money upon renewal.
I say give her a choice: $500,000 spent on barriers or programs for the suicidal or give her the $500,000 and you get no bridge barriers or programs. Let her make that choice and see her tune change.
I wonder if it would be possible to plan an event where family and friends of the lost souls of the bridge could span the bridge, creating a human barrier/spectacle. Speak to the contimplating … we care we don’t want you to go. And in what may be harsh, to the powers that be, we don’t want another Joe/Josephine public to be scarred for life because they happened to be using the walkway for it’s intended purpose and became witness to someone taking the permanent solution to what may have been a temporary problem … yesterday I waited at the bottom of the bridge on the Dartmouth side while two of my friends witnessed a burden they will carry forever. A young man who didn’t, or rather didn’t have to by engineering design, hesitate in his decision because “we” are too busy counting pennies and chatting about suicide. Hell lets set up a “loonie bin” on both sides to collect change for changes, if money is what the real barrier is
I went out and took lots of pics last week on a few walks over the bridge… Before it was too late. Are they going to be erecting these on all our overpasses next? Nanny state, nanny state.
Thanks for the update, Tim. I lost a friend to the bridge this summer.
Although I can’t say that these barriers would have prevented his death, I’m fairly confident that they would have bought some extra time for help to come find him.
Suicide, particularly for young males, can come about as a fairly impulsive decision. While it wouldn’t be rational or economical to restrict access to all potential means of taking one’s life, the bridge is a common spot that is easily romanticized by jumpers.
While I agree that you cannot prevent someone from ending their life if that is their wish, perhaps this could cause would-be jumpers to choose a less violent (and therefore potentially reversible) means of attempt, or to reconsider that moment of impulse they would otherwise give in to.
This isn’t about political games, it’s about common sense.
If they had been finished, I might still have a brother, my parents might still have their son and his friends might still have their friend. So yes, to prevent anyone else from dealing with the lifelong burden of being a suicide survivor (atleast from the bridge), we do “need” the barrier. If this happened to someone you love and care about, you might stop being a major elitist for 5 seconds and care about how much one human life can mean to so many people.
Gotta love Conservatives. I’ll never understand how you assholes can so completely and totally only give a shit about yourselves. Enjoy the heat in Hell boys.
I worked for the company who fabricated all of the barriers on this bridge and I built most of them myself. I believe this will help diminish the numbers of suicide on the Macdonald bridge and more people will understand how important and they really are. My heart goes out to all the family and friends who have lost loved ones from this bridge.
It’s pretty easy to climb over the barriers. I put a foot up midway and you can easily hoist yourself over. If a person really wants to kill themselves, they will work for it. If you’re too lazy to climb over this so called “barrier”, then you’ve just realized you don’t want to kill yourself. Either that or you’re not able to. Which will probably only exacerbate any existing issues. Now you don’t have somewhere to kill yourself that will do away with mess and anonymity. Yay. How bad is the city of Halifax? You can’t even kill yourself if you want to.
Too bad you didn’t finish the job morning,cynicism!