You could have gone off the Bloor Street viaduct
I could have been run down in the street
You could have got botulism anytime
I could have gone overboard into the seaAnything can happen
To put out the light,
Is it any wonder
I don’t want to say goodnight?
These words are from “Anything Can Happen” which appeared on Bruce Cockburn’s 1988 album, Big Circumstance. The very first in his litany of personal disasters is: going off the Bloor Street viaduct. Above is a photo of it I took this afternoon. Officially, it’s known as the Prince Edward Viaduct. Completed in 1918, it is 494 metres long and 40 metres above the Don River. In addition to supporting traffic, it supports the east/west subway line. If you look at the photo closely, you’ll see that I took it as trains were crossing in both directions. You can learn more about the Bloor Viaduct here.
Going “off the Bloor Street viaduct” used to be a fairly common event. In his novel, In the Skin of the Lion, Michael Ondaatje imagines the first such going “off the Bloor Street viaduct.” The incident he describes happens before the bridge was completed, so the two ends had not yet been joined:
Walking on the bridge were five nuns.
…
The nuns were moving towards a thirty–yard point on the bridge when the wind began to scatter them. They were thrown against the cement mixers and steam shovels, careering from side to side, in danger of going over the edge.Some of the men grabbed and enclosed them, pulling leather straps over their shoulders, but two were still loose. Harris and Pomphrey at the far end looked on helplessly as one nun was lifted up and flung against the compressors. She stood up shakily and then the wind jerked her sideways, scraping her along the concrete and right off the edge of the bridge. She disappeared into the night by the third abutment, into the long depth of air which held nothing, only sometimes a rivet or a dropped hammer during the day.
Then there was no longer any fear on the bridge. The worst, the incredible, had happened. A nun had fallen off the Prince Edward Viaduct before it was even finished. The men covered in wood shavings or granite dust held the women against them. And Commissioner Harris at the far end stared along the mad pathway. This was his first child and it had already become a murderer.
In real life, however, the bridge has murdered hundreds of people — so many, in fact, that it was the second most fatal standing structure in the world. The city decided to put a stop to the carnage by constructing a suicide barrier, and so, in 2003, the bridge was retrofitted with the “Luminous Veil.”
But does a physical barrier prevent suicide? Is this a valid way to think about prevention? Now, other musicians from Toronto wryly note:
Near where I live there’s a viaduct
Where people jump when they’re out of luck
Raining down on the cars and trucks belowThey’ve put a net there to catch their fall
Like it’ll stop anyone at all
What they don’t know is when nature calls, you go
A little further north of the Bloor Street viaduct is another bridge which spans the Don Valley. I passed by this afternoon and found a makeshift shrine — a memorial to Martin McMullan who, on November 8th, 2005, committed suicide at the age of 19.
Does a suicide barrier do any good? Or did the city of Toronto spend $5.5 million so that suicides could be dispersed to other bridges? Think what a boost local mental health care providers could have had with $5.5 million. Maybe it could have given them the resources to exercise some meaningful prevention.
Related posts:
January 28th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Interesting and informative although judging by the number of posted comments the silence of suicide continues. No-one knows if suicides have been dispersed to other bridges because despite the expenditure of $5.5 million, no follow-up study has been done. Did you check if Martin actually died by suicide or did you just make the assumption? Since no witnesses have come forward I can only agree that his death was by suicide. Martin’s death was preventable because the people who knew and could have helped him, not only refused but provided him with encouragement to complete the act of suicide. Although I have seen many make-shift memorials around Toronto for people who have died by homicide and by automobile accidents as far as I have noticed the memorial for Martin is the only public memorial for a victim of suicide. Why a memorial? Martin’s cousins from out-of-town wanted to say good-bye to him and leave some flowers so his father took them to the site below the bridge. It was a long time before I had the emotional strength to visit the site and I was ambivalent about having a memorial there. When I found out that no records are kept of the actual number of deaths from any bridge in Toronto but the best guess is at least one death a month from the Leaside / Millwood Bridge, I was appalled. Where else could that number of deaths occur with absolutely no reaction or response? I then agreed with continuing and expanding the memorial, not just for Martin but for all the victims of suicide. Occasionally someone comes by the memorial and attempts to destroy it but generally the response has been positive. People passing by sometimes sit on the log and think about Martin and maybe say a prayer for him and for his friends and family who have been so very devastated by his death. Bless you – Martin’s Mom.
May 1st, 2010 at 7:11 pm
May 2010. I am sure it is no consolation but I often pass by Martin’s memorial while jogging and often see people stopped to look at his picture and read the words. It is truly heartbreaking.
June 13th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
June 13. 2010
My husband and I, running the Don Valley Trail from Dawes Road, turned around at the Millwood Bridge. We noticed fresh flowers at Martin’s memorial, stopped to investigate, and felt overwhelming sadness for Martin and for his family. We, as a society, need to learn how to prevent such tragedies. Fancy suicide barriers on bridges are not enough. There needs to be understanding and treatment options for the Martins of our world. In the future we will stop and think of Martin, and his family, every time we run by the Millwood Bridge and pledge our future donations to suicide prevention.
July 8th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Last spring I was biking my son when I noticed Martin’s memorial for first time. Biking through same route again evening today, noticed some flowers may be a week old, but still looks fresh, stopped by, felt overwhelming sadness for Martin, family and others who lost him at this young age. This problem has to be addressed by us starting from home, friends and through our educational system also. These deaths are preventable, only need is more attention from people around and family, encouraging and supporting to live; not to end a life.
Mary: Your point seems correct on a study just published today, “Effect of a barrier at Bloor Street Viaduct on suicide rates in Toronto: natural experiment”: Conclusions: Although the barrier prevented suicides at Bloor Street Viaduct, the rate of suicide by jumping in Toronto remained unchanged. This lack of change might have been due to a reciprocal increase in suicides from other bridges and buildings. This finding suggests that Bloor Street Viaduct may not have been a uniquely attractive location for suicide and that barriers on bridges may not alter absolute rates of suicide by jumping when comparable bridges are nearby.
See this link for more info: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/341/jul06_1/c2884
August 18th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Mari – I’m very sorry for your loss, I have also lost family members and friends to suicide. However, you seem to shift the blame to those around Martin, saying they were responsible for his death. Ultimately, only Martin was responsible for his death. No one could have stopped him except for himself. I’m sorry you have yet to come to peace with this after all this time.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
I appreciate all the kind and thoughtful comments. I have to exclude the comment from ‘Suicide Survivor’ because I am not asking anyone to feel sorry for me. I do think that people who encourage another person to kill themselves should be held responsible. I hope if you are ever feeling down and out or depressed that no-one tells you that your best option is suicide. I will come to peace in my own time. Still Martin’s Mom