Luminous Veil
The Luminous Veil is a suicide barrier added to the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto, Canada. First approved by the Toronto City Council in 1998, the construction of the Luminous Veil was delayed for years due to funding concerns. During the delays in construction, the viaduct was the site of an estimated 94 suicides. Construction was completed in 2003 at the cost of C$6.5 million dollars, with C$2.5 million coming from taxpayers. The Luminous Veil was designed by architect and University of Waterloo Professor Derek Revington. It consists of over 9,000 rods, each 5 meters tall, spaced 5 inches apart and held in place by an angled steel frame. The design, which is an effective suicide barricade without significantly disrupting the view from the viaduct, won the 1999 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. However, some critics have pointed out that rather than preventing suicides, the Luminous Veil merely caused them to shift to other bridges in the area instead.
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