'Incredibly painful and may cause injury': San Francisco installs $224M steel suicide nets on Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco has finished installing suicide-prevention nets around the Golden Gate Bridge, a project that cost the city $224 million.

The installation, which began in 2018, involves a stainless steel net around the perimeter of the 1.7-mile long bridge.

"The amount of net that we’re installing is the equivalent of seven football fields," according to Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.

Although it may save lives, the 20 foot fall into stainless steel may still injure jumpers, Cosulich-Schwartz told ABC 7 News.

"People that come to the bridge to harm themselves are in a tremendous amount of pain, they want to escape pain, a fall into the net is one that will be painful; it is stainless steel, it's a 20 foot fall, it will be incredibly painful and may cause injury," the spokesman added.

The representative reportedly noted that the net may not stop all jumps, either.

Approximately 30 suicide attempts are successful at the bridge each year, the outlet reported, however 2022 saw less than half with 14.

According to CNN, there have been more than 1,800 confirmed jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge since its erection in 1937, with an incident occurring the same year it was opened.

Another reported 39 people have survived the jump. One of those people is Kevin Hines, a man whose attempted suicide resulted in traumatic injuries. Hines required three vertebrae replacements and a titanium metal plate and pins after he survived his fall into the water. He took four-and-a-half weeks to recover.

Hines has since been sharing his story and praised the installation of the nets.

"I would have hesitated; I believe with enough time for patrol officers to wonder why is that kid just standing there leaning over the rail crying his eyes out," Hines said. "19 [survivors] have come forward to say they all had the exact same instant regret that I had," he added.

Dr. John Kruse, a specialist in psychiatry with over 30 years of experience, has questioned the regional data on suicide rates resulting from similar prevention projects.

"I have not seen convincing evidence that we're actually going to be saving that many lives or that the several hundred million invested this way was the best way of saving the most lives," Kruse stated.

"It does not seem on the face of it logical to me to say that someone that determined to die is only determined to die because the Golden Gate Bridge has such a magnetic draw," the doctor added.

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