The headline is almost black comedy:
“Suicide barrier on Bloor Viaduct worked, but jumpers went elsewhere: study”
Really? You mean that the investment of $6 million into a view-obscuring fence aiming to keep people who want to snuff themselves out didn’t actually prevent their dedication to doing the deed somewhere else?
Colour me shocked. And while you’re doing that, colour me annoyed as well.
So long as people cluster in large cities, there will inevitably be a sizable demographic of people who will want to kill themselves. Although the Bloor viaduct was a convenient place to do it, the “state-of-the-art” $6 million fence did nothing but force them to find another place.
The thing that really upsets me, I suppose, is that the city probably thought it was doing something helpful, logical, and humane when it made the decision to blow $6 million on a suicide barrier. And think about it: they had to get structural engineers, architects, highly specialized workers, to deal with the problem of keeping people from going “splat” off Bloor street.
And what did it accomplish? No more clean up on the DVP below. The cleanups now take place elsewhere.
Here’s another place that cleanups soon won’t be taking place:
The Toronto Transit Commission vowed earlier this year to set up barriers at each of its 69 subway stations, although the TTC doesn’t know where the approximately $10-million per station will come from.
“[Barriers are] definitely seen as being effective within the suicide-prevention community,” said Alexis Martis, communication officer with B.C.’s suicide-prevention centre.
“Anything that’s going to get someone to take a minute and pause and think about it pulls them out of that space … can be very impactful.”
Really? Sounds like wishful thinking. Someone who is inconvenienced by barriers to keep themselves from jumping in front of a subway likely won’t have to wait long to find another suitable location to off themselves. After all, it’s a city. Such places are filled with dangerously high perches and fast-moving vehicles.
You can’t bubble wrap a society to prevent people from killing themselves. The best you can do is offer support services and hope they’ll take them. Beyond that, building suicide barriers in the belief it will prevent suicides is just engaging in specious reasoning.
Personally, I’ve never understood the appeal of killing yourself in public anyway. Not only are you making your private decision a spectacle, you are also inconveniencing the poor city workers who have to scrape you off the rocks or off the subway rails. Ruining landmarks with ugly fences and barriers is a worse offense still.
I cycle down the Don Valley frequently and fully expected this story when the barrier was first proposed. There are two bridges of equal or greater height that span the valley a short bus ride north. I’ve even seen a memorial to a jumper under one of the bridges.
Maybe Dalton could ban suicides?
In times past it was de riguer to kill one’s self by leaping into the nearest available river. As I’m told the “Don” is a river,are the banks sufficiently protected to prevent suicides the old fashioned way?
And,IF NOT,WHY NOT!!! Persons who drown themselves are entitled to equal treatment under the law! I demand all river banks be fenced!
Think of the work it’ll create. You can put all those suffering welfare recipients in Toronto to work building life saving fences!
It’ll be a bigger success than basketball courts!
D “Don” Morris