By Geoff Shackelford Santa Monica
Re: “Stuck in the Mud” (SMDP, Jan. 26, page 1). As a user of the recently closed beach-access stairways in Palisades Park, I’m hoping the recent storms highlight the mysterious and costly effort to “upgrade” these stairways. Not only was the price cited in this paper extreme (several hundred thousand dollars), but there is also the issue of the time the stairways are closed. In particular, the Montana stairway was closed for more months than originally announced with little work done other than watering some new plants along the stairwell (and the accident-waiting-to-happen stairs are not any better than they were before the renovation). Worse, a bizarre decision was made to remove hillside iceplant near the start of the Montana stairway. That exposed hill subsequently collapsed in the recent storms and led to the current closure. Who is overseeing this work and tolerating the clumsy treatment of Santa Monica’s precious beach access?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 31, 2005. Read the original PDF.