Graduates Design Barriers for Bridge

For four UC Berkeley civil engineering students, a final project centered around a single problem: how to prevent people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.

The team designed suicide barriers for the famous landmark, investigating a range of factors, from structural performance to the cost of the project.

The students, three of whom have since graduated, aimed to formulate "a process that looks at all the highly charged emotional and political issues systematically," said team member Ryan Stauffer.

The Psychiatric Foundation of Northern California floated the suggestion to the senior design class at the beginning of the speing semester, where it caught the eye of seniors Stauffer, Danielle Hutchings, Douglas Wahl and Robert Simpson.

According to the psychiatric foundation, more than 1,300 people have committed suicide by jumping from the bridge in its 70-year history, making the bridge one of the world's foremost suicide locations.

To address the social and political implications of the project, the students gained first-hand accounts of the issues surrounding the bridge by attending meetings with the Golden Gate Bridge District Board and the Board of Supervisors.

"It was a really multidisciplinary project. It was our own project, our own research and something we were passionate about," Hutchings said.

The students presented three types of designs. The first would add a higher railing to the current barrier. The second, called a splitpost rail, would replace the current barrier with a tall railing composed of vertical bars. The third would add arches above the current railing.

The aim of the project was to dispel the idea that such barriers would be impractical and to further educate the public about the issue, Hutchings said.

"Through education, you can have a more informed debate," Stauffer said.

Stauffer acknowledged the belief that the addition of a barrier would only send suicidal people elsewhere, sidestepping the issue rather than addressing it directly.

But through reviewing studies and testimonies of survivors, they found evidence that suicide is often driven by impulse rather than rationale.

Studies show that suicidal people who are prevented from killing themselves often change their minds, Stauffer said.

The student models grabbed the attention of local media and government officials, even gaining support from two members of the bridge's board of supervisors.

But the models are not part of a formal design for suicide bridges, slated for approval by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

Discussion surrounding the barriers resurfaced in April when the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the principle transportation agency in the Bay Area, funneled $1.6 million toward studies of the surrounding environment and the design of a potential barrier.

Opponents argue that, in addition to the futility of preventing suicide rates, new construction on the bridge would potentially damage the historical integrity of the landmark and cost taxpayers millions, which many fear could lead to a hike in the toll fee.

Critics said they were concerned that the barrier would infringe on the beauty of the famed landmark.

Hutchings said, however, that suicide barriers are not uncommon at historical sites all over the world. She said that politics play a larger role in urban development.

The students researched the process and design of suicide barriers at international landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Arroyo Seco Bridge in Pasadena, Calif., to gain insight into the multidisciplinary process.

"Calculations are just one tool in the box," Stauffer said.

The project was a step in breaking the stereotype that engineering is limited to number crunching and figures, team members said.

"This is what we do," Hutchings said. "We solve problems for society."

Tags: