BURSTWARNING: If you feel like you are in crisis or are considering suicide, please call the Crisis Centre BC suicide hotline at 1-800-784-2433. Other resources include: Canada Suicide Prevention Service at Toll free: 1-833-456-4566, the Crisis Line at 310-6789 or 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433): For suicide prevention and intervention.You can also text 45645 or visit the online chat service at crisisservicescanada.ca.
A committee is looking to address youth deaths by suicide within Summerland.
Mayor Doug Holmes said Summerland has seen several youth deaths over the last few years.
“It’s such a complicated issue that there is no one way we can solve it on its own,” Holmes said.
The municipality is working with other organizations to address this issue together.
The Okanagan Skaha School District has been working with the Safer Schools Together organization to provide guidance for trauma-informed responses in schools.
OneSky Community Resources has received provincial funding to open a Foundry Centre in Summerland to provide support for youth from 12 to 24.
The services through the Foundry include drop-in counselling, peer support, physical and sexual health care, workshops and education and employment support.
In addition, signs informing people of the 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline are posted in several parks and other public spaces around Summerland.
Holmes said the community is also examining safety measures at certain public sites as part of broader prevention efforts.
The municipality, the province, SnPink’tn/Penticton Indian Band and community stakeholders, including the Kettle Valley Steam Railway Society, have been discussing ways to reduce the risks at certain locations such as
Netting or other physical barriers have been proposed.
Holmes said netting has been put in place at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. and at the Bloor Viaduct in Toronto, for similar reasons.
Concerns about the safety of the trestle have been raised for many years.
In October 2002, a fatal incident led to safety upgrades, such as a creation of a task force. The upgrades on the trestle included fencing on both sides and a wooden walking path along the trestle.
Mental health experts consider barriers effective at reducing suicide risk.
However, despite these improvements, there have been other deaths from the trestle since that time, including some in recent years.
Holmes said the fencing in place along the trestle helps to reduce accidental falls, but not suicides.
In early July 2025, Holmes attended a special board meeting of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen with Brittny Anderson, Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities of British Columbia.
This meeting included a stop at the trestle to talk about the structure’s importance to the local economy and about falls from the trestle, especially youth deaths by suicide.
Then, in September, he met with other provincial representatives to discuss mental health care within the community.
While some of the discussions in Summerland have been about reducing risks at the trestle, removing the structure entirely has not been discussed.
The trestle plays a role in Summerland’s history and the history of the Kettle Valley Railway.
It was constructed in 1913 and provided railway service to Summerland.
The trestle bridge measures 189 metres in length and 73 metres high. When it was built, it was the highest structure of its kind on the Kettle Valley Railway and the third largest of its kind anywhere in North America.
In the late 1920s, the trestle approaches were filled in, and steel girders were installed to replace the trestle work.
Today, the Kettle Valley Steam Railway, a tourist train in the community, stops on the trestle during its runs. The structure is also used by pedestrians to cross Trout Creek Canyon.
In addition, the trestle has been used in some motion picture filming over the years.