Tragedy on DVP sparks calls for more suicide barriers on Toronto's bridges

WARNING: This story contains discussion of suicide.

A horrific event on the Don Valley Parkway last Father's Day has spurred Toronto city councillors to demand a speedier timeline for installation of suicide barriers on the Leaside Bridge.

Tali Uditsky tearfully told Wednesday's meeting of the infrastructure and environment committee that her father, Harold Lusthouse, was on his way to meet her for brunch that day in 2024 when someone leapt from the Leaside Bridge and landed on his car on the DVP. The 76-year-old grandfather died in hospital several days later.

"I was shocked, devastated, angry and my heart felt like it was going to explode," Uditsky told councillors. "He was stolen away from us ... as a result of the failure of the city to protect its citizens."

Plans to install suicide barriers on either side of all major bridges in Toronto have been in the works since 2016, according to Coun. James Pasternak, who spearheaded the effort to have barriers erected on the Leaside Bridge shortly after Uditsky approached him last summer.

A feasibility study on that bridge has been underway since then, with councillors getting an update on its progress at Wednesday's meeting.

Figures from Toronto police indicate there were 17 suicides or attempted suicides from the Leaside Bridge in 2023, nine in 2024 and none so far in 2025.

After Uditsky's emotional deputation, councillors voted unanimously to press staff to speed up the process for installing barriers at the Leaside Bridge. The current plan allows for several years before construction begins, and councillors gave staff until Sept. 26 to come up with a plan to install a temporary suicide barrier. That recommendation goes to council for final approval later this month.

Staff said they do not have citywide statistics for suicide deaths at Toronto bridges, but a 2018 report from the city's medical officer of health states that from 2004 to 2015, there were a total of 125 suicide deaths involving bridges in Toronto, for an average of 10 such deaths per year. 

"Many jurisdictions have erected barriers at bridge locations and found them to be effective in preventing or reducing suicide deaths, with little displacement of suicide deaths to other bridges," the report states.

City staff wouldn't say which other bridges in Toronto are being studied as part of their report "given the sensitivity of the topic." 

However, Pasternak said it's well known that suicide prevention barrier projects are underway at at least two nearby sites — the Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge over Rosedale Valley Road and the Overlea Boulevard Bridge over the DVP.

"There's no doubt it's not cheap — it's in the tens of millions of dollars," he said. "I believe it's worth it."

Toronto's lone suicide prevention barrier is on the Bloor Street Viaduct. Work was completed on the Luminous Veil, as the $5 million project was nicknamed, in 2003.

That bridge had been the second most-used suicide site in North America after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, but after the barrier was installed, suicides dropped from around nine per year to near zero, according to a 2017 University of Toronto study.

That study notes that although there was a rise in suicides at other locations after the barriers were installed, in the longer term there was no sustained increase in people jumping from other bridges in the city.

A staff report identified seven options for Leaside, but notes that testing still has to be carried out to ensure the bridge can bear the added load of suicide barriers on either side. The city has earmarked $500,000 for the preliminary work, which includes the cost of public consultations, but staff said in their report it could be 2028, or longer, before shovels are in the ground.

That's not good enough for Pasternak, who sits on the committee.

"Suicide is a moment of despair, a moment of hopelessness, of darkness and futility," he said. "What we want to do is take away that opportunity," Pasternak said.

The Leaside bridge has spanned the Don Valley between Leaside and Pape-Donlands since 1927. It was last renovated in 2004, about a year after the Luminous Veil was installed.

That's when the city should have seriously considered installing a barrier there too, according to Jason Ash, co-chair of the Leaside Towers Tenants Association.

"The LTTA believes bridges must have safety barriers, city-wide," Ash wrote in a letter to the committee. "Too many tragedies have occurred already."

Ash told CBC Toronto that although he's seen no numbers on suicide attempts at the bridge, he and his members believe they've risen in recent years.

"We know when a suicide has occurred when there's flowers on the bridge, when there's flowers on the Lower Don Trail beneath it, and even when there are attempts that are thankfully unsuccessful," he said. "The police presence closes all or part of the bridge and impacts the whole area."

Ash also noted that last summer's tragedy may give momentum to the effort to speed up the barrier construction at Leaside.

"My heart goes out to the families, particularly in the last year, when innocent people unfortunately lost their lives as well," he said. "It's a tragedy all around."

Uditsky told the committee the lessons of the Luminous Veil's success should have been heeded at other locales.

"When you know better, you should do better," she said. "And you didn't.

"Please change this for the safety of everyone driving on the Don Valley Parkway under that bridge."

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.