Back in January, we told you about a group of residents on a steep block of 48th Avenue that were looking for some help with the replacement of a handrail.
The original handrail was wiped out when a truck lost its brakes a few years back, and it has never replaced. Several of the residents that live on on the hill are elderly, and one fell and injured herself on the stairs in the last couple of years.
48th Avenue resident Gabriel Lampert has been on a personal crusade to get the handrail replaced, working with Supervisor Eric Mar’s office and the DPW for the last several months to try and get it done.
After media coverage here and in the Examiner, the issue got a little more attention down at City Hall.
Even so, the DPW told Supervisor Mar and Lampert that they were not responsible for replacing the handrail because it was not on city property.
Realizing that residents would probably have to foot the bill, Supervisor Eric Mar then proposed at a Board of Supervisors meeting that any DPW permitting fees for the handrail project be waived by the city, to reduce the project expenses for residents.
“The fee waiver will make it easier for the community and residents and property owners in the neighborhood to replace the railing,” Mar said.
Thankfully, it looks like the neighbors on 48th Avenue won’t have to foot the bill after all.
Just last week, I received the good news from Supervisor Mar’s office that the DPW has now agreed to replace the handrail on the 48th Avenue hill.
No firm date yet for when that work will be completed, but it’s great to see the DPW and the city step up to do the right thing.
Way to go, Gabriel and Supervisor Mar!
Sarah B.
Thank you, Gabriel and Sarah! And I appreciate Supv. Mar’s office finally getting involved.
Good news – but why should the property owners have been on the hook for this in the first place? Shouldn’t the truck owner be liable? Seems to me that his/her insurance company should cover this, not the city…
OMG. This reads as if the neighbors were asking for a high speed rail terminal. A handrail? That big a deal? DPW just can’t afford it? Too far out west for DPW, a land where they never go? It isn’t like the neighbors were asking for that horrible roadway to be repaved. God No, not that. That road is falling apart. Perhaps the City can put it on the repave way out west list, and get to it around 2025… or so.
Once the new handrail is installed, should someone unscrupulous injure themselves on those stairs, they’ll sue the city! Fantastic!
@awesome: Lawyers are already lining up to grab that first injury suit.