© Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto SunAdi Astl at the top of the staircase he built and the city has removed as of Friday morning in Tom Riley Park, near Islington Ave. and Bloor St. W. in Toronto, Ont.
A 73-year-old retired mechanic built the wooden staircase that led from a public parking lot on Bloor Street into Tom Riley Park in Toronto's west end after the city estimated that the project would cost between $65,000 and $150,000.
Adi Astl visits the park every day with his partner, Gail Rutherford. He said he was tired of seeing his neighbours injure themselves going down a steep hill into the park that hosts a community garden.
He thought the city's estimate was "just not right," so he decided to build the stairs himself. The were constructed in a single day, on June 22, with the help of a homeless man he hired. It all cost just $550.
Astl said the response to his makeshift staircase was overwhelmingly positive, and people started using them immediately. But someone called the city to complain and inspectors quickly arrived to tape off the "unsafe" steps. The decision divided the city - and Mayor John Tory was forced to respond to the controversy.
"The original cost estimate by the City of Toronto to build stairs in Tom Riley Park was absolutely ridiculous and out of whack with reality," the mayor said in a statement released Friday morning. The stairs were gone by 9 a.m.
© Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto SunCoun. Justin DiCiano sits on the staircase the city has since removed, leading down to Tom Riley Park, near Islington Ave. and Bloor St. W.
"I'm not happy that these kinds of outrageous project cost estimates are even possible," he said. "I want to thank Mr. Astl for taking a stand on this issue. His homemade steps have sent a message that I know city staff have heard loud and clear."
Etobicoke-Lakeshore Coun. Justin Di Ciano said that a new set of stairs will be constructed by the end of next week.
Di Ciano said he got emails from people across the city who supported Astl's initiative, but "we knew we we're going to have liability issues so we tore down the stairs - and Adi knew that."
Astl's staircase just didn't live up to Toronto's building standards.
The new stairs "will be designed to pass code and will be up to municipal standards and last probably 20 to 30 years," Di Ciano said.
They are expected to cost $10,000 - a fraction of the original estimate.
"We need to begin delivering value to residents and we're not doing that," Di Ciano said. "This is a major eye-opener for city staff and for councillors."
As the city debated whether or not the city should tear down Astl's stairs, local resident Shannon McKarney went to investigate his handiwork and pointed out a slew of safety hazards on Twitter. She said she often visits the park and agreed with the city's decision to remove the "death trap" stairs.
The stairs were just sitting on the hill - and not anchored to anything.
After significant rainfall on July 20, she tweeted that the stairs were "as slick as ice." They were also crooked and the wood was not sanded.
They weren't easy to access - people had to climb over a fence in the parking lot.
And there were some awkward gaps between the wood.
"I would definitely support having a proper staircase put in there," McKarney said in an e-mail.
Comment: Interesting that the comments on this article ran almost 100% against M. McKarney's 60+ tweets decrying Mr. Astl's efforts, calling her out as a busybody who criticizes but does nothing to help.