THE CITY OF TORONTO KNOCKS DOWN A CITIZEN’S $550 STAIRCASE TO BUILD ONE FOR AT LEAST $65,000

Winchester, VA – CTV News is reporting on a Toronto man who got fed up with the city’s inability to correct a simple issue and took matters into his own hands. Adi Astl was concerned about a muddy, rocky slope at the Tom Riley Park, on which several of his neighbors had injured themselves, so he asked the city to build stairs. The city told Mr. Astl that it would cost them $65,000-$150,000, so it was not a priority. For Adi Astl, that was not an option. Astl, a retired mechanic, hired a homeless man, funded the stairway himself, and the two men, for $550, built the stairway, complete with a rail. (1:04)  The city’s response? The stairway is not up to code.  Finding years of people injuring themselves in the park preferable to a citizen’s cost-effective solution, they have taped the stairway off with hazard tape. Although professionals say it would only take some minor tweaks to bring it up to code, the city will be tearing the stairs down. Toronto city councillor Justin Di Ciano is not impressed—with the city. When asked by the CTV reporter if this was his plan to force the city into action, Adi Astl responded “Of course.” The city has told Mr. Astl that they plan on installing safer steps in the near future.

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