After half a century of debate, suicide barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge work exactly as expected
Cameras showed what the delay looked like, and nets show what happens when someone finally does something.
The idea first emerged in the 1970s, was approved in 2014, and finalized in 2023. Suicide barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge reduced known attempts from an average of thirty per year to just four in 2025.
Nearly invisible to tourists and passers-by, the suicide barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge were a long time coming. For decades, people discussed, studied, and fought the idea of adding these barriers. In 2004, a documentary, The Bridge, settled the matter in disturbing detail, and now, nearly 20 years later, the nets are doing their job.
“The assessment is that the net is working as intended,” Mr. Mulligan said. “We’re trying to reduce the number of deaths. That’s what government should do, is protect the public. We were candid up front that nothing’s 100 percent, but that we think this is a worthwhile endeavor and good for the community. And we think a lot of people are alive today because of the project.”
Mr. Mulligan also oversees a vast electronic surveillance system and a team of on-bridge officers whose responsibilities include identifying and stopping those who are considering a leap. Last year, there were 94 successful interventions, about half as many as the average before the nets.
“Nets” is a misnomer; they are taut, marine-grade stainless steel cables about 20 feet below the public walkways on both sides of the bridge. The idea is that anyone who jumps into the net will be injured enough, or at least shaken enough, to keep them from crawling out and intentionally falling the rest of the way to the water.
Cameras showed what the delay looked like, and nets show what happens when someone finally does something.
Trigger warning: I believe in the right to suicide. I had one friend with a chronic degenerative disease who travelled to the Bridge in order to die without implicating any of their helpers. It was the last resort as my friend was by then to weak for any other means without aid. It's actually quite difficult to commit suicide alone, without a gun, & still illegal in most states of the USA to help someone end their own life. I was glad & thankful that the attempt succeeded. A few years later, a dear friend's young adult kid jumped off the bridge during a bad mental health episode. The nets might have changed everything for them.