In their second year since completion, the Golden Gate Bridge suicide prevention barriers allowed only four suicides in the first half of 2025. In the second half of 2025, the bridge saw zero suicides.
For decades, it was an irresistable magnet for those at the end of their ropes. There was an average of 30 successful suicide attempts each year from people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, and an estimated 2,000 such deaths since the bridge opened in 1937.
Back in 2014, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District approved installing suicide prevention nets on the bridge in hopes of ending this dark phenomenon. And while the installation of those suicide nets took years longer than planned and went about $150 million over budget, the barriers were finally completed almost exactly two years ago, and are proving their worth.
We now have our statistical results for 2025, which would be the first full year of the barriers being in place. And the New York Times reports there were only four Golden Gate Bridge suicides in the first half of 2025, and then zero suicides between June and December 2025. The Times adds that “seven months might be the longest stretch without a suicide at the bridge, though early records are sparse.”
We must throw some cold water on this assessment and admit there has reportedly been one successful suicide at the bridge in the first 20 days of 2026. But given this historical average of 40 suicides annually, and only four in the entire year of 2025, he barriers certainly appear to be doing their job.
Sometimes referred to as a "net," the barriers consist of stiff wire mesh that extends horizontally out from below the bridge deck, which would likely cause imjury but not death to a person falling on them — and they provide a very visible impediment to anyone looking down from the rails and considering a jump.
“The assessment is that the net is working as intended,” Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District general manager Denis Mulligan told the Times. “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.”
The bridge’s data shows that there were 94 aborted suicide attempts in 2025, which is about half the annual average. (Most people are talked out of the act by law enforcement, passersby, or other various interventions.) So the barriers may be a deterrent in that fewer people are even attempting suicide at the bridge, perhaps knowing about the nets.
Either way, the Golden Gate Bridge barriers apprear to be a major success in deterring suicides. And that could make them a model to be replicated by other bridges across the world that tend to attract those looking to end their lives.
If you are in crisis, dial the national Crisis and Suicide Lifeline at 988 on any phone, or text "BAY" to 741741 for free, 24/7, confidential crisis support from Crisis Text Line. And if you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you or they should call the San Francisco Suicide Prevention crisis line at 415-781-0500.
Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 07: A view of the newly installed suicide prevention barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge on November 07, 2023 in San Francisco, California. A suicide prevention barrier made of a net of stainless steel cables on the Golden Gate Bridge is nearing completion after 6 years. The project originally projected to cost $76 million has ballooned to over $215 million and is expected to be finished by the end of the year. An estimated 30 to 40 people jumped from the bridge each year prior to the construction of the netting compared to 6 so far this year. Since the Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937, an estimated 2,000 people have jumped to their deaths from the span. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
