Father asks city for fencing on downtown bridge
Alicia Petska/The News & Advance
Don Wilkerson stands on the D Street bridge in front of the Rivermont Avenue bridge, where his daughter jumped off in 2001. Wilkerson wants the city to install fencing on the bridges.
The pending replacement of the D Street bridge is leading to renewed calls for safety fencing, which advocates say can both prevent accidents and deter
suicides.
Don Wilkerson, whose daughter Theresa jumped to her death from nearby Rivermont bridge in 2001, said the city could save lives by including a fence in its design.
“The stakes are so high,” he said Wednesday. “I’d like to ask a favor of City Council. I’d like every member to walk to the middle of this bridge, lean against the railing, and look down.
“I hope that gives them second thoughts about denying that fence.”
Theresa Wilkerson had a history of schizophrenia. She was living near the Rivermont bridge when she committed suicide; witnesses reported seeing her run down the street to get to the overpass.
Advocates have been seeking fencing for both the Rivermont and D Street bridges for a number of years. The two structures are equal in height and sit close together, nearly intersecting.
City Council in 2002 rejected the idea of fencing along Rivermont, citing the cost and aesthetic drawbacks. Officials do currently plan to install a taller barrier as part of an expected renovation, but are loath to describe it as a fence or say it could deter suicide.
“We plan to do some aesthetic changes to the bridge, and part of that includes removing the existing aluminum railing and putting up a new barrier,” City Engineer Lee Newland said. “It will be more aesthetic looking, and it will be taller. … I cannot tell you it’s going to prevent anyone from jumping off.”
The renovation, prompted by a need to repair the bridge’s deck, is currently in the preliminary design phase. The results of that work are expected to be in later this year.
The D Street bridge was closed in March after suffering a rapid deterioration that left it in serious disrepair. The structure, which leads into the Daniel’s Hill Historic District, is the city’s oldest concrete bridge.
Phil Theisen, a board member of the Lynchburg Depressive Disorders Association and director of the Lynchburg Area Center for Independent Living, said the bridge’s reconstruction is an “ideal” time to add fencing.
“They could do it very easily,” he said. “And it would be cheaper than trying to retrofit a fence later.”
Theisen and Wilkerson have been working together to draw attention to the need for safety fencing. Both say it could circumvent accidents, as well as save someone like Theresa, who did not plan out her suicide but rather made a snap decision in a moment of crisis.
Don Wilkerson, a soft-spoken, thin man who apologizes for his failing hearing when asked a question, described the past seven years since his daughter’s death as a
“nightmare.”
“I’ve never gotten over it,” he said. “I could be on vacation, with friends, having a good time, and then think of her.”
“People say it passes with time,” he reflected. “But it doesn’t.”
Reader Reactions
thanks
It’s been a pleasure, freedom, lots of fun. Have a good evening.
,,,ohh common IBURGER,,what would i do without you??,,i guess i watch to much of that ANIMAL channel w/all that eat or be eatten stuff,,and then crazies like saddam,iran,,venzuwala,cuba,no.kor and china and russia blocking every deceant thing we try to do,,the city going broke,,taxes up,,gateway closing,,com on now whats a fence between friends ,,i mean on a bridge vs GATEWAY or ywca and battered woman,,means on wheels ,,sniff,,sniff :(
Sounds like you are a very busy person, spreading your angry message (and bad grammar and spelling) around the world. I’ll leave you alone so you have more time for your mission.
Republican is spelt R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N.
Freedom, just curious, why do your commas look like upside-down quotation marks? Do you do that on purpose? If so, why? Also, you seem like a very angry person. I feel sorry for you.
It always strikes me that the people who have the worst thing to say also have the worst grammer. Just a thought,‘freedom’ poster.
I completely agree with Cutie pie. Please keep your negative remarks to yourself. Or better yet, change your poor opinion. A fence on a dangerous bridge can’t possibly be more of an eyesore than reading your post.
I am sorry for this father’s loss, but I strongly believe that if his daughter wanted to kill herself, she would have found a way to do it. The city should not spend money on fencing for bridges on the off-chance that someone may want to jump off. How many people have jumped off these 2 bridges in the past 10 years? We can’t afford it, and in my opinion it will not stop someone truly intent on dying.
I don’t necessarily think the city needs to install fencing on the bridges, but that was a pretty heartless (and thoughtless) thing to say, freedom. It’s one thing to bash people’s ideas; it’s entirely another thing to say heartless things about the daughter of a man who’s obviously hurting. Grow up.
freedom… What a heartless thing to say. Clearly you know very little about mental illness. Many of those suffering from something like schizophrenia can function in society just fine as long as they take their meds. Sure, they might be a little different than you or I, but to just say she should have been committed is wrong and nowhere does it say she had tried to commit suicide countless times before. A crisis and/or stressful event, such as the death of a family member or friend, loss of a job, an illness, etc., could have triggered her impulse to jump. If you don’t have anything constructive to write, why not keep your fingers off the keyboard?
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