Coronado Is America’s Deadliest Bridge. AI to the Rescue?

Caltrans is proposing a $145-million solution for the Coronado Bay Bridge, the deadliest bridge in America with over 470 suicides since 1969, that includes an 8-foot steel mesh barrier and AI-powered cameras to detect unusual activity. The AI contract details are still being finalized, and mental health experts have criticized Caltrans for delays that they say could have prevented hundreds of deaths.

A long-awaited solution to reducing deaths by suicide from the Coronado Bay Bridge is finally in the works. Since the Coronado Bridge opened in 1969, more than 470 people have died by suicide, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. It’s now the deadliest bridge in America. A permanent barrier and AI-powered cameras are now in the works to be part of the $145-million solution proposed by Caltrans. The AI in this equation will be designed to detect “unusual activity.” It’s hard to imagine that doesn’t include stopped cars or pedestrians on the bridge. But a Caltrans spokesperson would not confirm whether that’s how it would work. He said the details of the AI contract are still being worked out. A vertical, 8-foot steel mesh barrier will also run the length of the bridge. Officials say it will be 87 percent transparent. What took so long? Mental health experts and residents who have lost loved ones have been critical of Caltrans over the years for not taking this step sooner, arguing that hundreds of deaths could have been prevented. Caltrans previously spent hundreds of thousands of dollars installing call boxes and bird spikes on the bridge. Later studies found that did absolutely nothing to decrease suicides. Mayor: Can’t Open Bathrooms Because of El Niño and Stuff People are upset city officials closed half the bathrooms at Mission Bay Park as part of this year’s budget cuts. Our readers even raised concerns about where lifeguards can go pee https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/07/27/lessons-from-the-tijuana-river/ . In a memo to Mayor Todd Gloria, District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo called out the restroom closures and suggested a place to find the money: The city won’t be doing a ballot measure it set aside $1.8 million for in the budget. “It is the basic promise that a family, a senior, a tourist, or a worker can actually use the public space we say belongs to them,” he wrote in the memo. Gloria pushed back : “I believe it would be premature to commit those one-time resources today,” he wrote in a memo back to Campillo. Instead, he said the money could fund a potential special election in District 5, where current Councilmember Marni von Wilpert may win a Congressional seat. Also, El Niño: “ We also anticipate the possibility of substantial unbudgeted costs associated with the upcoming El Niño storm season,” Gloria wrote. Parents, employers, this is a good line. Use it the next time you need to say no to something. Cap’n Keno’s Lives On A recent Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbRIE-hMKni/ scroll sent us down memory lane. Remember Cap’n Keno’s? The iconic, nautical-themed Encinitas dive with the famous red leather booths and gloriously cheap drinks closed its doors in 2024 https://voiceofsandiego.org/2024/12/03/when-the-old-haunts-get-bulldozed-for-much-needed-housing/ after 54 years. But its spirit lives on. Former pro surfer Benji Weatherley rescued Keno’s signature red booths, bar stools, plates and silverware before they went to auction. Now, those pieces of local history have a new home inside his recently-opened Hawaiian restaurant and bar called Breakers https://breakersencinitas.com/ . Knives Out: Housing Edition A couple of weeks ago, our Will Huntsberry wrote about the city’s soaring apartment vacancy rate — and asked whether it might mean the cost of housing could go down. That story kicked off quite a bit of debate. First, David Malcolm, president of Cal West Apartments, wrote in to say that, yes, rents are down https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/07/16/letter-to-the-editor-apartment-vacancy-rates-paint-an-incomplete-picture/ in the form of many offers for two or even three months of free rent. Malcolm also said it’s time to pump the breaks on San Diego’s “build, build, build” attitude. Then Ryan Clumpner, a former commissioner on the San Diego Housing Commission, fired back. Yes, “build, build, build” hasn’t delivered as much affordability as promised, he wrote. Part of the problem is landlords like Malcolm offering two months free rent, instead of actually reducing the monthly cost, he argued. “Large-scale landlords like Malcolm are adopting practices to ensure the benefits of new housing trickle down as slowly as possible, without regard for the broader impacts to society and our local community.” Read more of the back and forth in this week’s Politics Report. https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/07/25/politics-report-a-big-union-loss-in-chula-vista/ It’s our only newsletter for subscribers only. In Other News - A San Diego appeals court found that license plate data collection https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/07/27/san-diego-appeals-court-finds-that-license-plate-data-collection-alone-is-not-harm/ and storage is not, in and of itself, an invasion of privacy. The finding was in regards to a 2021 class action lawsuit. Union-Tribune - San Diego County’s rent increase cap will be set to 8.2 percent https://inewsource.org/2026/07/27/san-diego-county-rent-increase-cap-inflation-2026/ starting Saturday, a drop from last year’s 8.8 percent cap. The change comes from a cost-of-living adjustment and is the lowest cap in years. inewsource - Federal wildlife authorities are investigating https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2026/07/27/federal-officials-investigate-after-a-video-appears-to-show-a-person-kicking-a-california-sea-lion a video that began circulating over the weekend of a person repeatedly kicking a sea lion at La Jolla Cove while the person recording can be heard laughing in the background. AP - Hurricane Genevieve is set to bring eight- to 11-foot waves to San Diego County’s beaches https://www.kpbs.org/news/living/2026/07/27/hurricane-genevieve-moves-through-the-pacific-off-mexico-but-no-direct-threat-to-land-is-forecast , but there is no direct threat to land. KPBS The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Mariana Mart í nez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Scott Lewis and Will Huntsberry.