Genesee/21st/22nd stairway project postponed until next year

The city has decided to delay work that was going to close a stairway in northeast West Seattle. It was set to start next week, but some voiced concerns because it’s used by students walking to and from school. We checked with SDOT‘s Rick Sheridan regarding the timetable, and he replied with news of the postponement:

The stairway located between 21st and 22nd SW at SW Genesee Street was a late add-on to this year’s work schedule. In response to your reader’s concern, we have rescheduled the work to take place next summer when school will not be in session. Our Engineering staff and Maintenance team have identified other stairways that could be rehabilitated without requiring a school route detour.

By the way, SDOT maintains over 500 stairways with a replacement value of over $62.5 million. We have two programs that fund our stairway rehabilitation programs annually. The Stairway Rehabilitation Fund provides $467,000 and the Bridging the Gap voter-approved levy contributes $472,000. This level of funding allows us to rehabilitate six to eight of the most deteriorated stairways in the city each year.

2 Replies to "Genesee/21st/22nd stairway project postponed until next year"

  • metrognome September 5, 2012 (7:52 pm)

    nice to see the city can adjust schedules based on community feedback.

  • Sybil September 5, 2012 (8:53 pm)

    Oh great news! I was bummed about this affecting our walk to school but it didn’t occur to me to register a complaint with the city. Thanks neighbors!

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