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Tag: taft bridge

  • Barriers on DC bridge aim to prevent suicide attempts – WTOP News

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    D.C.’s Department of Transportation has installed temporary pedestrian fencing on the Taft Bridge to increase safety and prevent suicide attempts.

    Chelsea Van Thof (right) with her partner, Peter Tripp .
    (left)

    left

    Tripp (left) died by suicide in 2022. In her grief, Von Thof has advocated for safety barriers on the Taft Bridge in D.C.
    Tripp (left) died by suicide in 2022. In her grief, Von Thof has advocated for safety barriers on the Taft Bridge in D.C.
    (Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof)

    Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof

    Chelsea Van Thof (right) with her partner, Peter Tripp (left).
    Thanks in part to Von Thof’s advocacy, DDOT will build safety barriers on the Taft Bridge.
    (Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof)

    Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof

    The Taft Bridge along Connecticut Avenue Northwest has been the site of multiple suicides. D.C.’s Department of Transportation has now installed temporary pedestrian fencing on the bridge, as part of a project to increase safety and prevent suicide attempts.

    Chelsea Van Thof’s partner, Peter Tripp, died by suicide on the Taft Bridge in 2022. The veterinarians were living in Woodley Park at the time.

    “He was gentle and kind,” she said. “He was just always looking to help others.”

    Van Thof said she used advocacy as a coping mechanism while she grieved. She poured herself into efforts to get protective barriers installed on the bridge and believes the barriers would have saved Tripp’s life.

    “For me, it was like, if I don’t do this, no one’s going to do this, and more people will die,” she said. “And I can’t let that happen.”

    Between Jan. 1, 2010 and Jan. 1, 2022, there were 26 bridge-related deaths in D.C., and half happened on the Taft Bridge. Van Thof said it’s a huge relief to see the temporary fencing up now.

    “I didn’t want anyone to experience the same kind of pain and heartache that me and Peter’s loved ones and friends and family have experienced since losing him,” she said.

    Construction of the permanent barriers is set to be completed by fall 2026.

    Van Thof recently moved to Vermont but will return to D.C. when the barriers are finished. She hopes others who have lost loved ones on the bridge will join her, and she’s proud to help “change the history of the bridge.”

    “Peter deserved to be honored in this way by having this be his legacy,” she said. “I really feel like it’s my responsibility to continue doing the good that he would have gotten done had he lived.”

    Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Linh Bui

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  • DC leaders look to increase safety on Taft Bridge by raising pedestrian barriers – WTOP News

    DC leaders look to increase safety on Taft Bridge by raising pedestrian barriers – WTOP News

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    Lawmakers in D.C. have developed a new railing design for the Taft Bridge over Rock Creek Park to prevent more deaths.

    There was a public meeting Saturday to gather community input on the design of a railing improvement project for D.C.’s Taft Bridge.
    (WTOP/Grace Newton)

    WTOP/Grace Newton

    Taft Bridge railing redesign
    The new design would increase the height of barriers placed on either side of the bridge from 4 to 8 feet.
    (WTOP/Grace Newton)

    WTOP/Grace Newton

    Taft Bridge railing redesign
    Officials hope to complete the railings final design by the fall.
    (WTOP/Grace Newton)

    WTOP/Grace Newton

    Yuji Nishioka giving a presentation
    Yuji Nishioka, the project’s lead architect, giving a presentation.
    (WTOP/Grace Newton)

    WTOP/Grace Newton

    Between 2010 and 2022, D.C. saw 26 bridge-related fatalities. Half of those happened on the Taft Bridge over Rock Creek Park.

    Now, lawmakers are looking for community input on how to improve the bridge’s safety.

    D.C.’s Department of Transportation and Department of Behavioral Health hosted a public meeting Saturday to gather community input on the design of a railing improvement project for the bridge.

    According to the project’s website, the design is meant to “incorporate the existing features of the Taft Bridge to minimize impact to the historic fabric of the bridge.”

    The Taft Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

    Officials said they’ve been working on the new design for 10 months. It would increase the height of barriers placed on either side of the bridge from 4 to 8 feet.

    Alternative designs considered include the addition of a glass panel or a net to either side.

    “I looked at earlier designs, which would have been effective, but less beautiful,” one community member said. “I think we’ve got a good one here.”

    But, of course, aesthetic was not the only consideration in the railing’s redesign.

    “This is a public health project with a transportation asset,” said Richard Bebout, chief of crisis services for the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health.

    “And the principles that really drive our operation here are increasing access to care and decreasing access to lethal means.”

    Community member Chelsea Van Thof’s partner died by suicide on the Taft. She recalls seeing police lights through the barrier that’s currently placed on the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge, just perpendicular to Taft Bridge, the night he died.

    “Once I learned why there was a barrier on one and not the other and started learning more about how effective barriers are, I kind of made it my mission to make sure that nobody you know, has the Taft as an option when they’re in a temporary crisis,” Van Thof said.

    “Also, that nobody who loves someone in crisis has to experience the loss of someone to suicide, you know, particularly with this method or otherwise.”

    Officials hope to complete the railings final design by the fall.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Grace Newton

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