City takes down $500 DIY park staircase, will replace it for $10,000

One step back for two steps forward — the homemade staircase built by a 73-year-old Etobicoke resident in Tom Riley Park has been taken down, but he says he’s been told it will be replaced by an official, city-made staircase for $10,000. The DIY staircase was built to solve a problem it seemed the city wouldn’t, at least at a reasonable cost. To access the Etobicoke park from Bloor St. W., people would have to make their way down a steep hill, something Adi Astl felt was too dangerous.

“I’ve been watching people tumbling down the slope and hurting themselves,” Astl said Friday. “I said there’s got to be a better way.” But when he suggested the city build a staircase, the city came back with a price tag of $65,000 to $150,000 to build it. So Astl, a retired mechanic, took matters into his own hands and built a wooden staircase for $550. “It was crazy,” he said. “This is only eight steps, not 100 steps and wide like Taj Mahal. For me, I said I can build this thing for almost nothing. I took a chance.”

But city inspectors quickly roped it off, declaring it unsafe because it wasn’t built to regulation standards. To Astl, the issue boiled down to “bureaucrats, bureaucrats, bureaucrats.” “A bureaucrat, you can’t fault his way because he’s told to go straight. Even when I would go left, he has to be told to go straight,” Astl said. “He’s not allowed to think on his own and say ‘maybe I should go left.’ The only way to change anything is you need to change the thinking at the top.” Some pointed out a number of flaws in the design of Astl’s staircase, such as a gap in its platform, the lack of a concrete foundation, its risers and railing sitting on mud or gravel, and an unstable handrail. After widespread media attention, city staff removed Astl’s steps Friday morning, but began working on new ones, which he’s been told will cost $10,000.

A set of wooden stairs built by a Toronto senior for $550 to Tom Riley Park, has been removed by city workers early Friday morning after officials deemed it unsafe. ( Anne-Marie Jackson / Toronto Star ) Walking up and down homemade staircase off the parking lot down to where the community gardens at Tom Riley Park. ( Vince Talotta / Toronto Star )

Astl said he received a phone call Thursday evening from Mayor John Tory, thanking him for bringing the issue to the public’s attention. Tory tweeted a statement Friday that Astl’s “homemade steps have sent a message that I know city staff have heard loud and clear.” Tory called the initial cost estimate of the steps “absolutely ridiculous and out of whack with reality.”

“I’m not happy that these kinds of outrageous project cost estimates are even possible,” he stated. “I’ll be working to identify what changes we can put in place to make sure this doesn’t continue to happen.” Astl said he’s been told the steps should be ready by next Friday. “These people in the park have been asking for stairs for 10 years,” said his wife Gail Rutherford. “It’s a long time. So now they’re being done in 10 days.” The ordeal has made Astl somewhat of a celebrity in his community, as he says people are thrilled his efforts led to change. “Everybody shakes hands, some people walk around and take selfies with me,” he laughs. “Everybody’s happy.” Tory stated that anything the city builds must be deemed safe and able to stand the test of time. He said the city must always look to solve problems using simple and cost-effective solutions. The new city-built stairs will be “safe, durable and reasonably priced,” Tory declared. “That was my goal,” Astl said. “I’m just a little guy. I just did something.”