Could suicide-prevention nets on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge save lives?

TACOMA, Wash. — Four people died by suicide on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 2023. The Washington State Patrol responded to 52 people who they suspected might die of suicide on the bridge last year. That’s an average of one a week.

Can anything be done? In an article by Julia Park of the Tacoma News Tribune, she reported some south Sound officials think suicide-prevention nets may help.

“One life lost is too many, so if there’s anything we can do to help save a life, in my mind, it’s worth it,” Gig Harbor Mayor Tracie Markley told The News Tribune on Aug. 15.

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During public comment at the Gig Harbor City Council meeting on July 22, a woman said she wanted to see suicide-prevention nets installed on the bridge and she said some of her neighbors are on board.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spokesperson April Leigh wrote in an email to the newspaper that placing nets on the bridge would be challenging and potentially expensive.

“The bridge would require extensive evaluation,” Leigh wrote. “The evaluation would need to account for how wind and new weight would affect the bridge.”

Nets were added to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco for a whopping $224 million. They are made of marine-grade stainless steel netting that extends 20 feet from the east and west sides of the 1.7-mile-long bridge over the water.

According to the Golden Gate Bridge website, the nets made a difference in 2023, while they were still under construction. Fourteen people were confirmed to have died by suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge in 2023, compared to an average of 30 a year over the prior 20 years.

Another bridge closer to home also has a barrier, but it’s much smaller and has a fence instead of a net. WSDOT installed an 8-foot, 9-inch fence on both sides of the Aurora Bridge in Seattle, according to an archived WSDOT web page that spokesperson Leigh confirmed remains accurate.

Since it was completed in 1932, 230 people have died by suicide off the bridge. The Aurora Bridge is 2,945 feet long, compared to the 5,979-foot westbound and 5,400-foot eastbound spans of the Narrows Bridge.

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Jud Morris, vice president of the Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula Suicide Prevention Coalition, told The News Tribune on Aug. 8 that the coalition has discussed getting nets on the bridge but that it isn’t a realistic focus of the coalition.

“It would take a tremendous community organization effort,” Morris said.

The coalition is focusing on getting the suicide prevention signs already on the Narrows bridge updated with the three-digit number 988, which people could call for help if they’re suicidal or in crisis. Calling or texting 988 routes callers to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline where they can talk with trained crisis counselors, get support and find resources for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the 988 Lifeline website.

Morris said the 988 stickers will be added to the signs in the next month or two.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.

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