Photo by Paul Wellman
Thursday, October 4, 2007
It seems clear to me that most of us care deeply about the occurrence of suicide and self-destructive behaviors in our community and that we are gratefully supportive of effective suicide-prevention measures and programs. Yet even among those of us who think and feel this way, there is strong opposition to the proposal by Caltrans to spend $1,000,000 or more to install suicide-prevention barriers on the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge. Why is this?
For me and many others who have carefully studied this proposal — as well as studies about the effect of barriers on bridges and similar places elsewhere — the answer is simply this: The installation of barriers on the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge will not serve as an effective suicide-prevention measure for our community.
And here’s why: Most studies, including those cited by Caltrans, provide strong evidence that barriers meant to curtail suicide at a particular place do not stop the commission of suicide by other means elsewhere. For example, the study upon which Caltrans primarily relies in support of its proposal discloses that while bridge barriers did prevent people from jumping from that one place, there was no significant decrease in the overall suicide rate in the community in which the bridge was situated. This inconvenient fact was ignored by the author of the study, and Caltrans has repeated and compounded the error.
Caltrans and other supporters of its barrier proposal commit further error by claiming that another study — pertaining to the dynamics of suicidal behaviors of people who come from all parts of the world to the Golden Gate Bridge to commit suicide — can be relied upon in addressing the dynamics of suicidal behavior at the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge. I have carefully read this study and discussed its methodology, analysis, and conclusions with a few experts. We concluded the study is of little relevance beyond circumstances of suicidal behaviors at the Golden Gate Bridge (the foremost suicide magnet in the world). What happens on our humble yet exquisitely graceful Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge presents an entirely different case.
The fact is there is not a high incidence of suicide from the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge — a total of 43 in the 34 years of its existence. Suicides from the bridge comprise a very small fraction of the overall number of suicides that take place in Santa Barbara County each year — 52 on average from 1979-1996, and 42 on average from 1998-2006.
It is also a fact — for which we all may be deeply grateful — that in our community there are a variety of effective suicide-prevention measures, and programs have been developed to meet the area’s needs. Through educational outreach, focused workshops for at-risk groups, crisis-counseling for individuals, and interagency cooperation, there is real success at saving lives. The organizations — the Glendon Association and the Mental Health Association of Santa Barbara County, to name just two — and the many hard-working individuals who are engaged in this work deserve our generous support. The $1,000,000 Caltrans has earmarked for the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge suicide barrier would be better spent to sustain the effective work of proven suicide-prevention outreach.
It seems clear to me that most of us care deeply about the beauty that abounds in our community and that most of us are gratefully supportive of effective measures to protect and preserve it. I and many others who are inspired and uplifted by the exquisite grace and beauty of the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge, and by the beautiful experience of passing over it as we move along that splendid stretch of Scenic Highway, are deeply committed to protecting it.
By opposing the Caltrans proposal I am honoring both this commitment and my commitment to supporting truly effective suicide-prevention measures. In the spirit of the principle that “understanding does not require agreement,” I sincerely look forward to participating in the respectful and well-informed dialogue that is needed to work out a wise decision regarding the Caltrans proposal in the weeks and months to come.