Seattle's Stairways in Peril

 

Seattle's stairways are a legacy from last century that we're so lucky to still have around. Connecting to school, a park or a transit stop often involves taking a stairway or two. Stairs are a great place to take a stroll and chat with the neighbors. They're an excellent workout venue (search this site for "workout"). And, for those of us who love to explore our city on foot, stairways are ideal neighborhood scenic byways. In all these ways, stairways are integral to Seattle's outstanding walkability.

But there's a problem: the city has very little money for stairway upkeep and rehabilitation, not to mention building new stairs and pathways. Roughly 40% of the current small budget for maintaining and rehabbing our stairways - maybe a million bucks - comes from the Bridging the Gap levy, which is set to expire after 2015.

If we don't put realistic resources into maintaining our stairway network, they'll slowly deteriorate, as seen above. A stairway like this is not an everyday pedestrian connection, and city planners may consider it expendable, especially in times of financial triage. But it is equally a part of our precious stairway legacy, a hidden treasure that lends walkable flair to a particular neighborhood and makes our city a very special place to live. We have 84 major stairways with more than 100 steps in Seattle, and as many as 650 publicly accessible stairways overall. We are the lucky possessors of a stairway network that is desperately in need of care and preservation.

Check out the slideshow below for more views of the state of stairways. And stay tuned for more info on a planned Seattle Stairway Spring Cleaning Day, a citywide event next April to put a spotlight on our stairs.