Saving Lives at the Golden Gate Bridge
Rendering of the Suicide Deterrent Net
The Suicide Deterrent System, also known as the Safety Net, is being constructed to keep people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.
On average, 30 people or more die from suicide here each year. Hundreds more are stopped from harming themselves through the efforts of the Golden Gate Bridge District Patrol, California Highway Patrol, other law enforcement, and citizen intervention. Ultimately, a physical barrier is needed to stop this tragedy.
Engineers designed the Net to minimize impacts to Bridge views and appearance. It's also been designed to minimize interference with the daily operations and maintenance of this iconic structure. You have to look carefully to see the gray steel net design in the picture above.
The Net will be placed 20 feet below the sidewalk, extending 20 feet out from the Bridge. This design was chosen through a public process which solicited input from the community. The selected design allows open, scenic vistas to remain intact, while preventing anyone from easily jumping to the water below.
The Net will have minimal impacts to the architecture of the structure, but there are some necessary changes with the introduction of this new element. The Net’s new steel support struts are tube sections that will be painted the same International Orange color of the Bridge. The support struts attach to the vertical members of the Bridge stiffening truss and are spaced every 50 feet, the same spacing as the Suspension Bridge suspender ropes. After the support struts are installed, a horizontal stainless steel wire rope net will be stretched across those support struts.
The color and spacing of the support struts are designed to allow the new members to blend into the existing structure in order to minimize the visual impact of this new element. These additions will slightly diminish the integrity of the historic features, as the Net was not part of the original design.
Net construction began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2023.