After decades of advocacy, suicide deterrent finally comes to the Golden Gate Bridge

The net is designed to discourage people from jumping and to catch those who do.

The net extends 1.7 miles down both the west and east sides of the Golden Gate Bridge .

It's an iconic landmark, but it's also a lethal one.

About 2,000 people are estimated to have plunged to their death since 1937 .

The net is intended to discourage people from jumping and to catch those who do.

" The Golden Gate Bridge is the perfect target," says psychiatrist Mel Blaustein .

One jumper reportedly left a note on the bridge reading, "Why do you make it so easy?" Some opponents argued that people would just go somewhere else to kill themselves.