Mayor Don Iveson says he allowed his frustration to "boil over" when he told CBC News he was "tired of getting lectured" by Edmontonians critical of the new suicide barriers on the High Level Bridge.

"That was not a helpful comment and I apologize for saying it," Iveson wrote in a blog post this weekend.

"What I should have done was to ask for compassion for the emotionally difficult position council has been in with respect to the barriers, and to ask for patience as we examine options to mitigate the conditions we've created."

The blog post comes days after an interview with CBC's Edmonton AM, in which Iveson suggested bicycle riding might have to be restricted on the busy bridge because of space issues since the city installed new suicide barriers.

He said he personally knew three people who died by suicide on the bridge, and said he was "... getting a little tired of getting lectured by folks that say this was not a good move for city council."

But cyclists are complaining that new barriers — intended to dissuade suicide attempts — have narrowed the sidewalks and created congestion on either side of the bridge.

In his blog post, he writes that over the past week he has ridden across the bridge several times, and because of the work on the west side, was forced to take the east side.

I'll work to keep an open mind about ways to deal with the issues on the bridge. - Mayor Don Iveson

"It is more constrained than ever on the east," Iveson wrote. "The east side was never great, which is why I preferred the west, and now it's worse.

"Making it worse clearly wasn't Council's intent when we approved the installation of the barriers. And yet I see and share the frustration in the result."

There have been more than 60 collisions and near-misses on the bridge in the last two weeks, according to an informal survey by the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society. The $3 million barriers were approved in December 2014 and installation began last year.

Iveson writes that he agrees with cyclists and their frustration, but feels like the council is "moving again" when it comes to cyclists complaints.

"I'll work to keep an open mind about ways to deal with the issues on the bridge," he wrote. "I'm with you."