I got an email yesterday from Gabriel, a resident who lives near 48th Avenue and Balboa.
The hill that runs up 48th Avenue is very steep and when a truck lost its brakes a few years ago, it demolished the handrail that accompanied the western set of stairs. It has never been replaced.
Gabriel, himself 67, says some elderly residents in their 80’s live at the top of the stairs and neighbors are concerned about their safety.
He’s tried the systemic way of requesting a new handrail via the Dept. of Building Inspection and finally the Department of Public Works, with some help from Supervisor Mar’s office, but says his “request seems to have gotten lost in the bureaucratic maze”.
Gabriel says he remembers someone coming out from DPW to take a look, but it never went any further.
The DPW would seem to be the right city department to help with this – a quick search found a similar stairs and handrail project they did in 2007 in Bernal Heights.
Does anyone have experience trying to get this kind of project completed? Leave any advice for Gabriel in the comments.
Sarah B.
UPDATE (1/24/11): For those of you that want to request that the city install a new handrail at the intersection, you can file a request online with 311, the city’s service agency. To get started, go to http://www.sf311.org/index.aspx?page=111 and click on “Other Locations” in the Public Stairs Defects row. You’ll need to enter intersection information and describe the issue. I just filed my request.
Private funds and labor–put it in and plead ignorance. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission in this town.
I used to live in the building adjacent to the stairs (and there was a man who lived there named Gabriel – same person???) Maybe the landlord would be willing to put a handrail on the wall of her building… although she was never really keen on spending money for building improvements. :-S
I have been helping one of the elderly residents carry her groceries up the stairs. She’s fallen on them previously, and spent weeks in hospital. I emailed the DPW press contact this morning, linking this article for her and asking her to let me know to whom we should direct our inquiries at DPW. If Gabriel reads this (and has a greyhound?), this is your neighbor at 711 (with the partial white picket fence). Please let me know if you hear anything, and I’ll do the same.
@David – nah, they’ll just make you tear it out.
@Cath: Thanks for the support. PS: He’s a whippet.
@Gabriel — sorry! I just know he’s a big sweetie.
If replacing the handrail is the responsibility of DPW then they should do so. Mohammad Nuru is the DPW Director of Operations ph # in city dept. directory is listed as 695-2000. It’s probably a general receptionist number, but perhaps you can leave a message that if a resident slips and falls because the handrail was not replaced then the city may have a more expensive $ liability than replacing the handrail.