Editing Golden Gate Bridge (section)

===Suicides===
{{Main|Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge}}
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 | footer    = As a [[suicide prevention]] initiative, signs on the Golden Gate Bridge promote special telephones that connect to crisis hotlines, as well as 24/7 crisis text lines.
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The Golden Gate Bridge was the most used [[List of suicide sites|suicide site]] in the world prior to the installation of suicide prevention nets.<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Bone |title=Golden Gate bridge in San {{sic|Fransico |nolink=y}} gets safety net to deter suicides|newspaper=The Times |url=http://journalisted.com/article/jdey |via=Journalisted |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525091537/http://journalisted.com/article/jdey |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |date=October 13, 2008}}</ref> Jumpers would fall for four seconds,<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Branch |first=John |date=November 5, 2023 |title=What the Golden Gate Is (Finally) Doing About Suicides |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-nets.html}}</ref> then hit the water at around {{cvt|75|mph|km/h m/s|-1||}}. Most would die from impact [[Trauma (medicine)|trauma]].<ref name=":1" /> About 5% would survive the initial impact but generally [[drown]] or die of [[hypothermia]] in the cold water.<ref name="lethal4">{{cite news |title=Lethal Beauty. No easy death: Suicide by bridge is gruesome, and death is almost certain. The fourth in a seven-part series on the Golden Gate Bridge barrier debate. |first1=John |last1=Koopman |date=November 2, 2005 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/LETHAL-BEAUTY-No-easy-death-Suicide-by-bridge-2562269.php#page-1 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |access-date=June 3, 2014}}</ref><ref name="LAtimess">{{cite web |last=Bateson |first=John |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2013-sep-29-la-oe-bateson-golden-gate-bridge-suicides-20130929-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009064346/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/29/opinion/la-oe-bateson-golden-gate-bridge-suicides-20130929 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 9, 2013 |title=The suicide magnet that is the Golden Gate Bridge |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=October 14, 2013 |type=opinion}}</ref> After years of debate and an estimated more 2,000 deaths, implementation of suicide prevention barriers began in April 2017.<ref>{{cite news |first=Will |last=Houston |url=https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/02/18/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-starting-to-take-shape/ |title=Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier starting to take shape |newspaper=[[Ukiah Daily Journal]] |date=February 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

[[File:Suicide nets on the Pacific side of the Golden Gate Bridge.jpg|thumb|Suicide nets on the Pacific side of the Golden Gate Bridge in December 2022]]

==== Suicide nets ====
The so-called nets are taut, designed to be painful to land on. They extend {{convert|20|ft}} out from the walkway and because of their design, cause serious—but not fatal—injury to people who jump from the bridge.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=How The Net Works {{!}} Golden Gate |url=https://www.goldengate.org/district/district-projects/suicide-deterrent-net/how-the-net-works/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.goldengate.org}}</ref> They are made of "marine-grade stainless-steel wire rope, akin to a horizontal fence four millimeters thick," which does not give, and is located {{convert|20|ft}} below the walkway.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-17 |title=The Golden Gate Bridge's anti-suicide "nets" are already saving lives |url=https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/17/golden-gate-bridge-anti-suicide-nets-work/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref>

Construction was first estimated to take approximately four years at a cost of over $200 million; however, installation of the nets was not completed until January 2024, and exceeded the budget by $17 million.<ref name="abc7-3jan2024">{{cite news |last=Stone |first=J.R. |title=San Francisco installs $224M net to stop suicides off Golden Gate Bridge |url=https://abc7news.com/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-nets-kevin-hines-suicides-survivors/14268993/ |access-date=January 5, 2024 |work=[[KGO-TV]] |date=January 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Suicide Barriers Going Up At Golden Gate Bridge After Over 1.5K Deaths |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/13/suicide-barriers-to-go-up-at-golden-gate-bridge-after-1-5k-deaths/ |website=CBS San Francisco |publisher=CBS Broadcasting Inc. |access-date=November 27, 2017 |language=en |date=April 13, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

The nets have widely been considered successful, even convincing former skeptics. As of November 21, 2024, the [[Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District|Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District]] reported that the number of deaths by suicide year to date had been eight, down from an average 33.5. Through the end of October 2024, thwarted attempts were down from an annual average of 200 to 106.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swan |first=Rachel |title=Golden Gate Bridge suicide nets have been up for nearly a year. Are they effective? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-do-they-work-19926874.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222072510/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-do-they-work-19926874.php |archive-date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" />