14 DAY TRIAL // Since attorney Kenneth Kahn and his wife opened business offices right under the Vista Bridge in Portland, Oregon, they have witnessed no less than 8 suicides.
The bridge is known locally as “Suicide Bridge” so that’s why the two want to have barriers built that would prevent people from jumping.
However, the “Friends of the Vista Bridge” campaign has come across one huge obstacle, Examiner reports: lack of funding.
“The Vista Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means the barriers would need to be architecturally appropriate,” the e-zine says.
“The projected cost is $2.5 million [€1.89 million] and the group feels this project is a high priority. The city may seek a federal grant for the barriers,” Examiner notes.
The campaign has also met some opposition from those saying that people who have decided to take their own life will find a way to do so even if there’s a barrier in place preventing them from jumping off a bridge.
However, the Kahns believe that, in this particular case, barriers would actually cut the number of suicides down to zero, because jumping is an impulsive act: a barrier would give jumpers the chance to think twice, they say.