From London Green Party European elections candidate, Caroline Allen:
Last weekend I joined other Greens at a vigil on the Hornsey Lane Bridge calling for anti-suicide measures to be put in place there. Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, and London’s Green MEP, Jean Lambert were also at the Bridge, right on the border between Islington and Haringey.
The bridge is a well known suicide spot over the Archway Rd and we were there on Saturday for a vigil to remember those who have lost their lives there and to call for anti-suicide measures to be put in place. It was a very moving event as joined hands across the bridge and left flowers. This campaign was sparked by the deaths of three men in just over three weeks at the end of 2010. Sadly, yet another man jumped off ‘Suicide Bridge’ on 7th June. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Some of his relatives joined the vigil. The BBC gave good coverage to the event:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23113254
TfL and Haringey Council have said in the past that they would jointly fund some measures, but things have gone worryingly quiet according to campaign member Sarah Cope, she feels the campiagners and residents have effectively been ‘squeezed out’ of the picture’. In terms of measures they could put in place, these include: – higher barriers -an anti-suicide net – a freephone SOS phone – better signage about sources of help Architect Robert Dearman, who was responsible for the successful measures implemented in Bristol at the Clifton Suspension Bridge, was commissioned by Haringey to build a full-scale model of the bridge. He worked out what would work and then the measures were never implemented. so a lot of the work is already done.
It is well known that appropriate measures can save lives. How many more people have to die before these measures are put in place?