Cornell University to Install Nets on Bridges to Discourage Suicide
ByCornell University has decided to install net on five bridges from where few students ended their lives three years back. The work on the installation will commence Monday.
The Ithaca journal has reported that the city of Ithaca and the officials at the university have come to some sort of agreement to cover the gorges under the bridge with specially-built nets to prevent any more suicides.
The discussion for the installation of some kind of barrier began as soon as the infamous suicides of three university students were reported in 2010. Every kind of barrier, from temporary chain-link fences to black-fencing were considered, before the public debate began on whether installing the nets was the best option.
The decision also is a move forward after the city of Ithaca and the university were sued by a parent in November 2011, whose son leaped to his death from a city-owned bridge. The suit stated that nothing was done avert the threat the bridges posed and despite a long history of suicides. There have been 27 fatal attempts between 1990 and 2010, 15 of which involved university students. The lawsuit is still pending in the court.
In December, the city council and the university reached a consensus regarding the bridge and its maintenance. Common Council agreed to let Cornell put netting below the three-city owned bridges. The university agreed to maintain and inspect all the nets, regardless of whether they are installed on university-owned or city-owned bridges. Some of the nets will reportedly measure around 15 feet out from the bridges.
The project was scheduled to begin this summer, but the uniqueness of the net designs and the long process for approving materials caused a delay, said John Keefe, project manager with Cornell University to Ithaca Journal.
The Ivy League university's reputation suffered a major setback after the three suicides within a month of each other in 2010. Hopefully, the nets will discourage the students.