Golden Gate Bridge to a site near the bridge. In May 1987, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, the Golden Gate Bridge district again closed the bridge to automobile traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross the bridge. However, this celebration attracted 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, and ineffective crowd control meant the bridge became congested with roughly 300,000 people, causing the center span of the bridge to flatten out under the weight. Although the bridge is designed to flex in that way under heavy loads, and was estimated not to have exceeded 40% of the yielding stress of the suspension cables, bridge officials
Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge or die of hypothermia. The Golden Gate bridge's death toll has since been surpassed only by the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in China. In 2013, 118 potential jumpers were talked down from their attempt and did not jump. A number of measures are in place to discourage people from jumping, including telephone hotlines and patrols by emergency personnel and bridge workers. Although it had previously been considered impractical to build a suicide barrier, in 2014 the Bridge's directors approved a proposal for a net below the bridge's deck, extending out either side, rather than side barriers at the railings as