San Francisco to set up anti-suicide net at Golden Gate Bridge

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco city officials have decided to set up a net at the Golden Gate Bridge in the city to deter people from jumping to their deaths, it was reported on Saturday.

The bridge's Board of Directors voted 14-to-1 to install the stainless-steel net system on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The net will be placed 20 feet below the deck, and will collapse around anyone who jumped into it, making it difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to leap to their death, the report said.

The net, which is expected to cost 40 million to 50 million U.S. dollars, has the lowest projected annual maintenance and operation cost of five proposed suicide barriers and is considered the safest for bridge workers, according to the report.

The other four designs were 10-to-12-foot vertical or horizontal barriers that would sit atop the existing 4-foot railings.

But it probably will be years before the netting are installed, said Mary Currie, bridge district spokeswoman. Before it can start construction, the bridge district must complete more studies, including one on the effects of the net on birds, and come up with a funding plan. Then it will need to complete engineering and design work, and hire a contractor.

About 2,000 people have jumped from the storied bridge since it opened in 1937. So far this year, 19 have made the leap, which is almost always fatal. Whether public funds should be used to prevent additional suicides has been passionately debated.