SAN FRANCISCO, March 12 (UPI) -- The board of directors for San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge has voted to seek outside money to study the possibility of a suicide barrier.
The decision, approved by a 15-1 vote, will allow for environmental studies and preliminary design work on a suicide barrier once the necessary $2 million is raised, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.
However, the bridge district is facing a projected $70 million deficit over the next five years, so money for the study and possibly the barrier will have to come from federal, state and local funds, corporate donations, foundation grants and citizen fundraisers.
"I really think we can do this," said Maryanne Harrison, vice president of the board. "But it has to come from everybody because it can't come from us. We don't have the money."
The bridge has been reported to be the world's most popular destination for suicide. Some 1,300 people are known to have jumped to their death since the bridge was built in 1937, but experts believe the actual number of suicides exceeds 2,000 because not every body is recovered.
