Archway Bridge

• I AM surprised that Haringey and Islington councils, together with Transport for London, are still considering the installation of that well-publicised fence on Archway Bridge, which it is claimed will prevent suicides.

The installation of CCTV with live monitoring of images from the bridge has, according to reports, already prevented incidents and, I assume, suicides, at the bridge.

I predicted this in 2016 when I contacted the three authorities and very strongly requested that live CCTV should be considered urgently.

I have researched Archway Bridge as an important Victorian monument. I have seen no evidence whatsoever that any of the campaigners who want to make the bridge safe have ever suggested the installation of cameras. Perhaps, it was only because of my persistent actions that CCTV was installed.

The installation of a “suicide fence” seems to have become an obsession with certain people, with the result that alternative options have been deliberately not proposed. It should have been obvious to campaigners that cameras on the bridge cost far less than fencing.

Campaigners have relied for their costly demand on a study which examined the effectiveness of ‘fencing’ on Clifton Bridge in Bristol for preventing suicides.

The authors concluded that the ‘fence’ prevented suicides from that bridge. They have not stated that such a fence is the only effective preventive measure.

In 2016, an official from Haringey Council told me: “This fence is just a public relations thing. There are other equally effective ways of preventing suicides, which cost much less and are much quicker implemented.” Was he not right?

In 2016, I photographed Archway Bridge and its architectural details. A local woman told me that apparently all suicides took place on the Islington side of the bridge. Her statement made me wonder why suicides occurred only on the Islington side.

I discovered that spikes had been removed from the top of the parapet facing Archway (the Islington side). The gaps had been spaced so that a person could easily stand on the parapet. No spikes were missing on the Haringey side.

The spikes had been sawn off. The conclusion, therefore, is that someone prepared Archway Bridge for suicides.

I have insisted that Islington and Transport for London replace the removed spikes. I do not know if that has been done because I have not been back to Archway Bridge.

I have told Islington, and TfL, that it is extremely unlikely that even a single suicide would have occurred had the bridge been maintained properly and periodically checked for safety.

If they have not done so already, I would urge Islington and TfL to replace the removed spikes immediately. I hope that campaigners will now cease to demand the building of that horrendous suicide fence and admit that it is unnecessary.

A CRAWFORD
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