Vancouver city council votes to look into installing suicide barriers on Granville Bridge
Posted June 4, 2026 7:52 am.
Last Updated June 4, 2026 7:53 am.
Content warning: The following story deals with the subject of suicide. If you or a loved one is at risk of self-harm, call Crisis Centre BC at 988. Translation services are available.
After previously rejecting a motion to fast-track the implementation of suicide barriers on the Granville Bridge, Vancouver city council has now voted to look into it.
Stacy Ashton with Crisis Centre BC says it is about time.
“The importance of a suicide bridge barrier is that we know that they work and that they save lives,” she said.
“They stop people who are in very painful moments from making a mistake that they aren’t going to be able to take back. It’s a no-brainer. We have to do this.”
Since 2019, there have been almost two dozen incidents involving distraught people on the bridge. These preventable tragedies have a ripple effect throughout an entire community, Ashton says.
“We lose that life, but we also have so much grief from that lost life and so much trauma from folks who may have witnessed it, who may have been involved in it in some way,” she said.
“What we know is that these barriers will prevent that from happening.”
Meanwhile, there have been no incidents on the Burrard Street Bridge since barriers were installed there in 2017.
Last month, mental health advocates and Granville Island officials renewed calls for the barriers on the Granville Bridge after a woman tragically fell to her death.
— With files from Joe Sadowski
