One of Portland's most eye-catching bridges is also its most dangerous.
Locals have dubbed Vista Bridge in Goose Hollow, just west of downtown Portland, "Suicide Bridge," for the alarmingly high number of Oregon residents that have jumped off.
In January, a just-engaged 19-year-old died after she leapt from the bridge, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. Mid-May, a 40-year-old man committed suicide from the bridge late at night. Just last week, a 15-year-old girl killed herself from the edge of Vista Bridge.
At least 17 people have thrown themselves from the bridge in the past 10 years.
For Attorney Kenneth Kahn, who operates his business from an office located right under the bridge, the deaths are sad but not surprising. He has witnessed the sickening thud of bodies on pavement all too many times, and has even found human remains of eight people on the sidewalk.
"Just imagine a human being detonating," he said, referring to the horrific sounds of suicide.
Kahn, along with his life coach wife, now spearheads a campaign for their group, Friends of The Vista Bridge. The group aims to put pressure on city government, who they claim are responsible for putting suicide-prevention barriers on Vista Bridge. Not only that, Friends intends on going nationwide-they are also working to put barricades around all bridges, including Cold Spring Canyon Bridge in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Now, Friends of The Vista Bridge must face the most harrowing issue that hits most groups of this kind-funding. There is no question that the project is an important one, City Commissioner Steven Novick told AP, but where will the cash come from?
"We certainly think of it as a high priority, but there's a whole mess of competing priorities and not much money," Novick said.
City officials estimate it will cost around $2.5 million to install the appropriate barriers. Some say Portland might try and nab a federal grant to foot the bill.
Some Portland residents said that a barrier won't stop people from ending their lives.
"I don't particularly feel that throwing money at an issue necessarily solves it, and altering the bridge because of a few people who want to end their life seems pointless," Les Anderson said on the group's Facebook page.
Still, Kahn and his wife intend upon embarking on the movement to end Vista Bridge suicides with full force.
"There's a reason we have flesh," Kahn told AP. "We're not supposed to see this stuff."
