A letter to the City of Vancouver: This tragedy should never have happened

Dear Mayor Sim and Members of Council,

I am deeply saddened by the loss of life from the Granville Bridge in the early hours of Wednesday, after a long and painful attempt to save a woman’s life. 

Social media allowed all of us to witness the consequences of a heartbreakingly wrong decision to forego suicide prevention barriers on the Granville Bridge. 

This woman’s death was preventable. 

The grief and pain her family and friends will endure: preventable. The pain of the many first responders who worked for over ten hours to save this woman: preventable. The experience of the residents who watched helplessly from nearby buildings, and for those of us who watched helplessly on social media: preventable. 

The Crisis Centre of BC has been calling for suicide prevention barriers on the Granville Street Bridge for years. We have said this publicly, repeatedly, and urgently.

• In February 2023, we started commenting in media stories about the necessity of bridge barriers during the redevelopment of Granville Street Bridge.
• In June 2024, we questioned the decision to exclude bridge barriers during the Granville Bridge redevelopment, based on the fact that no suicides have occurred on the Burrard Bridge since bridge barriers were installed. 
• In July 2024, we supported Counsellor Boyle’s motion to include funding for fencing for the Granville Street Bridge in the City’s Capital Budget, alongside CMHC-Granville Island, PSAC Granville Island, CMHA-BC, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, and the Downtown Vancouver BIA.. We were deeply disappointed that Council would only commit to barriers if other levels of government helped with the cost of protecting the lives of Vancouver residents. .
• In March 2026, we were again disappointed when Council voted to remove its 2024 commitment for suicide prevention barriers on the Granville Street Bridge from the 2027 to 2030 Capital Plan.

The evidence is clear. Suicide prevention barriers save lives. They create time. They interrupt a moment of acute crisis. They provide space for help to arrive, for a crisis line phone to be used, for a first responder to intervene, for a person to move from immediate danger toward safety and hope.

Council has repeatedly had the opportunity to treat suicide prevention barriers as urgent, life-saving infrastructure. Instead, the City has chosen delay, contingency, and deferral. That choice has consequences:

• The consequences were visible this week on the Granville Street Bridge.
• The consequences were visible to residents watching from their homes.
• The consequences were carried by first responders trying to save a life in impossible circumstances.
• The consequences were experienced by people across the city who saw, heard about, or were affected by the incident.

And the consequences are now being borne most deeply by those who loved the person who died.

In June, you will receive a report costing out suicide bridge barriers. We are asking Council to act immediately. We call on the City of Vancouver to:

1. Restore funding for suicide prevention barriers on the Granville Street Bridge.
2. Move this project forward urgently. 
3. Pair physical barriers with crisis line phones and clear suicide prevention signage.
4. Publicly release a concrete timeline for design, funding, procurement, and installation.
5. Engage directly with the Crisis Centre of BC, Granville Island, mental health organizations, first responders, people with lived and living experience, and communities affected by suicide loss.
6. Treat this as a public safety emergency, not as a long-term optional enhancement to transportation infrastructure.

We understand that infrastructure decisions are complex. We understand that budgets are difficult. We understand that the City faces competing priorities. But when a known location continues to be used for suicide, and when proven prevention measures exist, inaction becomes a choice. Delay becomes a choice. Deferral becomes a choice.

This week, Vancouver witnessed the consequences of that choice. We urge you to make a different one now.

Sincerely,

Stacy Ashton
Executive Director