East Escarpment Stairs To Officially Open
 

East Escarpment Stairs To Officially Open

HAMILTON, ON – June 24, 2008 – Hamilton’s Public Works Department is hosting a special event on Wednesday, June 25 at 10:00 a.m to celebrate the official opening of the East Escarpment Stairs from the Rail Trail (approximately 300 metres east of the lower section stairs) to Mountain Brow Boulevard at Margate Avenue. Opening remarks will be followed by a photo opportunity. The new stairs enhance public access up the mountain, as part of the Public Works Department’s commitment to making Hamilton a more "walkable/rideable" city as outlined in the Transportation Master Plan.

On Hand: Mayor Fred Eisenberger; Ward 6 Councillor Tom Jackson; Scott Stewart, General Manager, Public Works; Gerry Davis, Senior Director of Capital Planning & Implementation, Public Works; Public Works staff; Neighbours and local residents

I was on those stairs - with many other people - almost two weeks ago. They're pretty nice. Maybe I should take the stairs to get to the opening ceremonies... :-)

The biggest thing that trail is missing is a direct connection to the Chippawa Trail. C'mon, people. It's the same rail line.

These are long overdue, no thanks to the moronic Grant Darby. We'll have to see if crime skyrockets on Margate now that the stairs are open.

Great to see these stairs open up. Long overdue. Now we can probably see the crime figures in the lower city start to decrease.......juuuuust kidding. :haha:

Kenilworth Stairs swaying and need $95,000 in repairs
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew van Dongen, Apr 1 2016)

The Kenilworth Stairs are too popular for their own good.

The upper section of the 229-step steel staircase up the east Mountain is exhibiting worrisome "swaying" that an engineer has recommended fixing, said parks manager Tennessee Propedo.

"It's not unsafe for pedestrian use, but there's a concern that if you don't address the issue it will lead to problems."

The decade-old staircase – which some call the Kimberly stairs – is the most easterly of five escarpment climbs maintained by the city, including Wentworth, James, Dundurn and Chedoke.

Minor repairs in 2013 to the upper stair case from the rail trail to Margate Avenue were supposed to address the "wobble," said Propedo, but evidently didn't do the trick.

"It's such a popular attraction and people are constantly exercising on it, running up and down," he said. "It almost has 24-7 use."

The stats seem to bear that out.

An average of 1,400 stair-climbers a day – 510,000 a year – are estimated to use the staircase, which – like many of its competitor climbs – has its own Twitter account @KenilworthStair.

Coun. Chad Collins, who represents the area at the bottom of the stairs near Kimberly Drive, has a motion going to public works committee Monday asking for $95,000 in emergency cash for the fix.

The recommended repair includes new cross-braces for the steel stair and more anchors into the nearby escarpment rock.

If the money comes through, Propedo said the stairs would be closed immediately "for a few days" to do the work.

Off-topic, but does anyone else have a hankering to meet Tennessee Propedo in person and find out how the person matches the name? Probably the most unique name in Hamilton public service, if not farther afield. :tup:

http://www.turfandrec.com/images/sto...14/tennweb.png

Via Turf & Recreation:

A veteran of 33 years with the City of Hamilton’s parks department has become the first president of the newly renamed Sports Turf Canada.

Tennessee Propedo, manager for the past three years of the city’s parks and cemeteries, succeeded Paul Gillen in the spring as president of the Sports Turf Association which has plotted a new future direction for itself, beginning with a new name.

Sports Turf Canada was chosen as the association’s new moniker to better reflect its foray into becoming a Canada-wide organization. Based in Guelph, Ont., the former Sports Turf Association was seen largely as a provincial entity even though it long supported sports turf managers from across Canada.…

Propedo is responsible for the upkeep of 255 baseball diamonds in Hamilton as well as 201 other fields used for soccer, football, Australian rules football and cricket. The latter, he said, is becoming an increasingly popular sport and already has three pitches for play.

“It’s (cricket) probably expanding quicker than soccer and baseball.”

Much of the sport’s increased popularity is due to the number of immigrants who have settled into the area from countries where cricket is revered. Last year, seven players from the Canadian national cricket team came from the Hamilton area. Propedo said he hopes Hamilton can attract some competitive “friendly” matches in the near future, and the city’s Confederation Park is currently in the process of being redesigned to include a championship cricket pitch.

Cricket players, he said, expect the outfield area to be similar to a golf putting green—playing short and fast—and want the wicket area to be like a ball diamond’s infield where it is packed hard with just a slight bit of grade to give the ball some spin.

In addition to the more than 450 sports fields under his wing, Propedo also looks after the ongoing maintenance of 76 cemeteries of which 16 are still active. He estimates about 65 per cent of his time is spent looking after the sports fields component of his portfolio.

He said he doesn’t get the opportunity to get out of his office and onto the grounds as much as he would like to, but makes the effort to get out to check on his fields whenever possible.

“I’m very fortunate to have great staff that are very passionate and love what they do. They’re out there giving the City of Hamilton’s taxpayers quality service.”