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and comparing them to suicide records spanning 1993 to 2001, nine years before the barrier was erected. The records included the deaths of nearly 15,000 people in Toronto and around Ontario.

The researchers found Toronto’s yearly rates of suicide by jumping remained unchanged before and after the Bloor Street barrier was built. While deaths at the Bloor Street fell from an average of 9.3 deaths per year to zero, the number of suicides at other locations went up.

Before the barrier was erected, the Bloor Street Viaduct was one of the most popular bridges in the world for suicides until a costly and controversial barrier was added to the bridge in 2003. Only San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge

attracted more jumpers.

The researchers write:

“Thisfinding suggests that Bloor Street Viaduct may not have beena uniquely attractive location for suicide and that barrierson bridges may not alter absolute rates of suicide by jumpingwhen comparable bridges are nearby.”

A debate has long raged over whether preventing access to such iconic sites deters the overall suicide rate, or whether people intent on killing themselves will simply find other locations.

“What this study shows us is that physical barriers alone are not sufficient to deter people who intend to commit suicide by jumping,” said Dr. Anthony Levitt, the head of psychiatry at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

and

, who also worked on the study.

“Optimal suicide prevention programs involve comprehensive strategies to provide education, combat stigma and improve accessibility of services to individuals contemplating suicide.”

is now planned for the Golden Gate Bridge to catch jumpers.