Staff recommend Vancouver ‘scale back’ work on suicide-prevention fencing on Granville Street Bridge

The Granville Street Bridge as seen from CTV's Chopper 9. (CTV)

Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health, there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling or texting the Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8. A list of local crisis centres is also available here.

The City of Vancouver will not be allocating any additional capital funding to suicide-prevention fencing on the Granville Street Bridge, if council approves a staff recommendation.

A report coming to council Tuesday outlines recommended “adjustments” to 28 motions passed by council. In some cases, the recommendation is to halt the work and in others it is to scale it back.

“This report recommends that council agree that staff time and resources be allocated to a subset of Council motions approved between 2018 and 2025, with the objective of freeing up staff capacity in order to better implement council’s priorities through 2026,” the report reads.

A motion brought by former OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle in 2024 titled “Installing Means Prevention Fencing on the Granville Street Bridge” is one item slated to be scaled back due to “funding constraints.”

Boyle’s motion said there had been 21 suicide “incidents” since 2019, with six deaths recorded in that period. It also noted a “marked increases in suicide-related activity” between 2019 and 2024.

Conversely, there had not been a death by suicide from the Burrard Street Bridge since fencing was installed in 2017, according to the motion.

“Physical barriers on bridges, such as adequate fencing, are the only effective way to stop suicides by jumping from bridges and are associated with a 93 per cent reduction in suicide deaths per year,” the motion also said.

The motion asked for council to commit to “fully funding” the fencing but was amended after it was tabled to say council would “commit to fully funding, at minimum, a third of the project costs” and that it would direct staff to “include funds for this project within the 2027 - 2030 capital plan.”

The report coming to council recommends against allocating any funding in the capital plan and commits only to completing a design and cost estimate to “support advocacy for senior government funding.”

The report also includes 50 motions staff are not recommending any changes to.