March 19, 2024

Officials move to stop jumping from bridge into creek

CLIVE — A Des Moines suburb has taken steps to keep people from jumping off a railroad bridge into a creek.

Officials in Clive have grown concerned about increasing numbers of people jumping into Walnut Creek from an old railroad bridge along the Clive Greenbelt Trail. Clive Police Chief Michael Venema says the rising and falling water level poses a danger to jumpers.

The Clive City Council voted last week to bar people from gathering on or climbing bridges in the city. That effectively outlaws the jumping from the railroad bridge because jumpers have to climb it to reach the jumping point.