Fences come down off Ithaca bridges

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Updated05/17/2013 06:17 PM

Three years after a rash of suicides prompted Cornell officials to erect tall fences on seven Ithaca bridges, the dark reminders have been taken down. But as our Tamara Lindstrom reports, there's a new system taking their place.

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ITHACA, N.Y. -- It's a view some students thought they wouldn't see again.

"It's very exciting, because I've just gotten so used to the way it looks with the fences up," said Cornell University senior Zoe Weiss. "I remember freshman year when we didn't have fences. And now it feels so much more open and you get a better view of the gorges when you walk by."

"It's really exciting. It was always kind of daunting and upsetting to walk by and not really experience the gorges and the full views," said senior Lillian Simon. "But it feels really nice and much more homey. Back to normal."

On Friday, crews began tearing down the barriers put in place three years ago on Cornell University and city bridges to help prevent suicides.

Leaning over the wall, you can see the new mesh barriers suspended below the bridges. Crisis counselors say they can give someone with suicidal impulses time to think. And these are no circus nets.

"It's a three millimeter stainless steel diameter," said senior project manager John Keefe. "I tell people it would be like jumping into a cheese grater from 15 feet."

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Fences come down off Ithaca bridges