The City of Saint John has asked the province to consult with local tourism operators before proceeding with any plans to build a suicide prevention barrier at the Reversing Falls Bridge.

Saint John Mayor Don Darling said council supports the initiative but has also asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to consider its impact on a key tourism site.

He said the esthetics of fencing that bridge are important.

"Because of the significance of this location from a tourism perspective and the vantage point that it represents with Reversing Falls, and the fact that a fairly major upgrade was underway at the Reversing Falls restaurant, we thought it would be a good idea for the province to do some consultation with the public and perhaps tourism operators and others," he said.

"To see how a balance could be found between ... putting up fencing that was as appealing as it could be, but still met the objectives of the [Saint John Suicide Prevention] Committee."

Different options for bridge

Darling said the city was provided with two or three different renderings of fencing types, including one version that he described as more commercial, something like a chain link fence.

He said council preferred the model of fencing that went up in Halifax.

Saint John Mayor Don Darling said council supports the initiative but has also asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to consider its impact on a key tourism site. (CBC)

In 2009. nine-foot vertical rails were extended along the city's MacDonald Bridge, which is accessible to pedestrians.

They were replaced when the bridge underwent major renovations during the $150 million "Big Lift" project that began in 2015.

Darling said the city wrote to the deputy minister back in February about the concerns but has yet to hear back.

75 crisis calls since proposal

The proposal to build a barrier was raised by Saint John's suicide prevention committee at least as far back as January 2015.

Since then, the committee said there's been at least 75 crisis calls to the Saint John police, where police have had to respond to the bridge and in many cases, were able to talk people out of danger.

However, the committee said it also has information that at least two people did manage to jump over the past 30 months and one of them did die.

In 2009. nine-foot vertical rails were extended along Halifax's MacDonald Bridge. (Robert Short/CBC)

Committee chair Greg Zed said he heard from MLA Ed Doherty last year that the money for the barrier was available and he remains optimistic that the project will go ahead.

"It's a good fight" said Zed. "It's not adversarial. We want to be cooperative in the strictest sense but we want no more calls to police or friends to the bridge."

Suicide prevention groups are not on board with a request from the city of Saint John to make sure suicide barriers don't take away from the view. 1:04 Roger Stoddard, who also sits on the committee, said the project shouldn't be politicized and shouldn't be delayed.

"It's a known fact that the Reversing Falls bridge is an active place where people go to die by suicide," said Stoddard, who is also vice-president of the Canadian Mental Health Association in New Brunswick.

"This is the time to do it."

Stoddard said anybody who is worried about the barrier's impact on tourism should also consider the impact of a suicide on tourism.

"People jumping off the bridge would take away from the beauty more so than fencing that is well done," he said.

"What kind of society would we be if we didn't help our most vulnerable."

Restaurant operator opposes barrier

Max Kotlowski, who recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the Reversing Falls Restaurant, said he opposes a barrier.

"I'm making a huge investment in the city at the Reversing Falls Rapids," he wrote in an email to CBC.

"Adding a suicide barrier would harm my business and the prospects of other businesses."

Max Kotlowski, who recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the Reversing Falls Restaurant, said he opposes a barrier. (CBC)

Kotlowski added that the image of the Reversing Falls Rapids area is already struggling with the presence of heavy industry on its north and east sides.

Reversing Falls Rapids is on the cusp of becoming a major attraction that will increase prosperity of the City and improve people's lives, he said.

"Now is not the time to add a suicide barrier," he said.

Limited Research

It's unclear how the suicide barrier on Halifax's Macdonald Bridge has affected the local suicide rate.

The city's bridge authority does not release those statistics.

This week, the City of Edmonton reported at 50 percent reduction in suicide attempts at its High Level Bridge since safety barriers were completed in 2016. (CBC/Rick Bremness )

In 2010, the British Medical Journal reported on research that was done on the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto, calling it "the bridge with the world's second highest annual rate of suicide by jumping after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco."

The research showed a mean of 9.3 suicides per year before the barrier went up in 2003 and none afterward.

However, the report also said that the overall suicide rate by jumping in Toronto remained unchanged and concluded that lack of change might have been because of a reciprocal increase in suicides from other bridges and buildings.

This week, the City of Edmonton reported at 50 percent reduction in suicide attempts at its High Level Bridge since safety barriers were completed in 2016.