The city of Vancouver is finally revealing $35 Million worth of changes being proposed for the Burrard Street Bridge, with one specific change that has some heritage advocates concerned.
In addition to lane widening and replacing the bike lane divider, among other things, there is now a proposal to install a five to eight foot high fence that would prevent someone from attempting to jump off the bridge as a means to commit suicide.
Anthony Norfolk, a heritage advocate and member of the Vancouver Heritage Society, says the design was never one that had been discussed with stakeholders or at any of the city’s public house meetings.
“The issue has been the last-minute addition of design proposals that seriously change the look of the Burrard Bridge,” said Norfolk.
READ MORE: City of Vancouver holds public consultation over proposed changes to Burrard Bridge
On average, between 2006-2011, emergency services in Vancouver received 17 calls–labeled as potential suicide attempts–involving the 83-year-old bridge. According to the BC Coroner’s Service, one person dies each year by jumping off the bridge.
Norfolk admits the issue of how to preserve both history and life is not an easy topic to address.
“It’s not that anyone is opposed to the concept of means prevention,” said Norfolk. “But this is not the right way to go about doing that sort of thing. It needs to be thought about, it needs to be discussed, the stakeholders need to be engaged–which they have not.”
Vancouver Coastal Health first raised the issue with the city–which is how the proposed design came about.
At this point, the design is still a proposal. However, Jerry Dobrovolny, the city’s Acting General Manager of Engineering Services, says they will be presenting this draft to council.
“If council gives us direction to keep going in that detail design that’s when we’ll take a look at exactly how high is the fencing, exactly what is the spacing of the various bars, what is the diameter of the bars and start to design it in a way that minimizes the impact as much as we can,” said Dobrovolny
If officials do get the green light from council, Dobrovolny says they will be consulting with heritage advocates and other stakeholders to design a fence that is appropriate for the bridge.
WATCH: City unveils new plans for a revamped Burrard Bridge
Comments