Woman survives High Level Bridge jump same day figures posed scaling suicide barrier appear
By Otiena Ellwand
First posted: Sunday, August 07, 2016 12:37 PM EDT | Updated: Sunday, August 07, 2016 10:30 PM EDT
Four or five dummies posed scaling the suicide barrier on the west-side of the High Level Bridge mysteriously appeared there Sunday morning.
The dummies are made out of clear packing tape and are spread across the bridge several metres apart.
It’s unclear why they’re there, what they mean or who put them there, but the suicide barriers have proven to be an extremely contentious issue in Edmonton, creating tension between various camps, including the biking community, Mayor Don Iveson and mental health advocates.
Here’s how people reacted when they saw
A 22-year-old woman jumped off the High Level Bridge on Sunday afternoon, the same day an evocative art installation of five figures scaling the new suicide barrier mysteriously appeared on the west side of the historic structure.
She survived the plunge with no obvious injuries, but was taken to hospital as a precaution, said Edmonton police Insp. Regan James.
She was found walking along the river bank east of the bridge after she scaled the suicide barrier and jumped about 3:30 p.m., a few hours after the last figures were taken down by city workers.
The woman told police she regretted jumping. James said it had nothing to do with the art installation.
"We've had people scale the ( black railing) and now scale the barriers," he said. "We've caught people up on top where the train trestle is attempting (to jump) from there ... How are you going to stop people from finding a high place and jumping? It's a pretty tough problem to solve."
Early Sunday, five hollow human-sized figures made out of clear packing tape were left posed in various climbing positions several metres apart along the suicide barrier, provoking strong reactions from pedestrians, cyclists and social media commentators.
It's unclear why the figures were there, what they meant or who put them up, but the suicide barriers lining both sides of the bridge have proven to be an extremely contentious issue in Edmonton, creating tension between various camps, including the biking community, Mayor Don Iveson and mental health advocates.
Many of the people who crossed the bridge Sunday interpreted the figures as art, while others shrugged and moved on.
The display prompted Jon Hoffman to stop biking and take a picture. Hoffman said he's been through some "tough stuff" and has met people who contemplated suicide from the bridge. He saw the figures as "short-term art," reminding people of the importance of life.
"It will open (people's) eyes to how this is a real possibility for a certain number of people in our community and I would hope they'd take steps to reach out to those people," he said.
Colin Wear said the figures looked like art and didn't bother him. "It's better than vandalizing the property."
He said the figures immediately made him think of the suicides that have happened at the bridge because of how "they were clinging to the wires, looking like they were going to jump."
"Everyone has a different idea of what art is," he said.
Here’s how people reacted when they saw photographs of the figures on Twitter:
In 2014, city councillors chose to erect suicide barriers inside the existing fence after affected family members urged them to act quickly. Councillors were told police responded to 41 suicide-related calls from the bridge in two years. The $3-million barriers are meant to be a deterrent; to get people to think twice before attempting to jump. They were finished in July.
The design narrowed the sidewalk to the point where cyclists report catching their handlebars on the beams. No cyclists or pedestrians were consulted during the design.
The new barriers make the east path 2.3 metres wide, well shy of the 4.2-metre-wide city standard for a multi-use path. The west side is 2.8 metres with the barriers.
Mental health advocates say the barriers are a "key component" of the strategy to counter the suicide epidemic — but they aren’t the total solution.
“It’s important suicide prevention begins before a crisis point,” Ione Challborn, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Edmonton, previously told Postmedia News.
Edmonton is scheduled to release a larger suicide prevention strategy Sept. 8, which is expected to include a significant education component.
If you’re in distress, call 780-482-HELP (4357). If you’re outside of the greater Edmonton region, call the Rural Distress Line at 1-800-232-7288.
With files from Elise Stolte
oellwand@postmedia.com
twitter.com/otiena
Dummies posed scaling the west-side of the High Level Bridge suicide barrier mysteriously appeared there Sunday morning. It's unclear why or what they mean.
Woman survives High Level Bridge jump same day figures posed scaling suicide bar
By Otiena Ellwand
First posted: Sunday, August 07, 2016 12:37 PM EDT | Updated: Sunday, August 07, 2016 10:30 PM EDT
Four or five dummies posed scaling the suicide barrier on the west-side of the High Level Bridge mysteriously appeared there Sunday morning.
The dummies are made out of clear packing tape and are spread across the bridge several metres apart.
It’s unclear why they’re there, what they mean or who put them there, but the suicide barriers have proven to be an extremely contentious issue in Edmonton, creating tension between various camps, including the biking community, Mayor Don Iveson and mental health advocates.
Here’s how people reacted when they saw
A 22-year-old woman jumped off the High Level Bridge on Sunday afternoon, the same day an evocative art installation of five figures scaling the new suicide barrier mysteriously appeared on the west side of the historic structure.
She survived the plunge with no obvious injuries, but was taken to hospital as a precaution, said Edmonton police Insp. Regan James.
She was found walking along the river bank east of the bridge after she scaled the suicide barrier and jumped about 3:30 p.m., a few hours after the last figures were taken down by city workers.
The woman told police she regretted jumping. James said it had nothing to do with the art installation.
"We've had people scale the ( black railing) and now scale the barriers," he said. "We've caught people up on top where the train trestle is attempting (to jump) from there ... How are you going to stop people from finding a high place and jumping? It's a pretty tough problem to solve."
Early Sunday, five hollow human-sized figures made out of clear packing tape were left posed in various climbing positions several metres apart along the suicide barrier, provoking strong reactions from pedestrians, cyclists and social media commentators.
It's unclear why the figures were there, what they meant or who put them up, but the suicide barriers lining both sides of the bridge have proven to be an extremely contentious issue in Edmonton, creating tension between various camps, including the biking community, Mayor Don Iveson and mental health advocates.
Many of the people who crossed the bridge Sunday interpreted the figures as art, while others shrugged and moved on.
The display prompted Jon Hoffman to stop biking and take a picture. Hoffman said he's been through some "tough stuff" and has met people who contemplated suicide from the bridge. He saw the figures as "short-term art," reminding people of the importance of life.
"It will open (people's) eyes to how this is a real possibility for a certain number of people in our community and I would hope they'd take steps to reach out to those people," he said.
Colin Wear said the figures looked like art and didn't bother him. "It's better than vandalizing the property."
He said the figures immediately made him think of the suicides that have happened at the bridge because of how "they were clinging to the wires, looking like they were going to jump."
"Everyone has a different idea of what art is," he said.
Here’s how people reacted when they saw photographs of the figures on Twitter:
In 2014, city councillors chose to erect suicide barriers inside the existing fence after affected family members urged them to act quickly. Councillors were told police responded to 41 suicide-related calls from the bridge in two years. The $3-million barriers are meant to be a deterrent; to get people to think twice before attempting to jump. They were finished in July.
The design narrowed the sidewalk to the point where cyclists report catching their handlebars on the beams. No cyclists or pedestrians were consulted during the design.
The new barriers make the east path 2.3 metres wide, well shy of the 4.2-metre-wide city standard for a multi-use path. The west side is 2.8 metres with the barriers.
Mental health advocates say the barriers are a "key component" of the strategy to counter the suicide epidemic — but they aren’t the total solution.
“It’s important suicide prevention begins before a crisis point,” Ione Challborn, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Edmonton, previously told Postmedia News.
Edmonton is scheduled to release a larger suicide prevention strategy Sept. 8, which is expected to include a significant education component.
If you’re in distress, call 780-482-HELP (4357). If you’re outside of the greater Edmonton region, call the Rural Distress Line at 1-800-232-7288.
With files from Elise Stolte
oellwand@postmedia.com
twitter.com/otiena
Dummies posed scaling the west-side of the High Level Bridge suicide barrier mysteriously appeared there Sunday morning. It's unclear why or what they mean.
Woman survives High Level Bridge jump same day figures posed scaling suicide bar