Wintler Park’s new stairs are built to last

Accessing Wintler Park from the east just got a little easier and safer.

Contractors Art and Margaret Rojsza finished building a set of galvanized steel stairs that lead down to the waterfront park in Vancouver’s Riverview neighborhood. Site grading and final inspections remain, but otherwise they’re usable stairs.

Many people frequent the park, which marks the east end of the popular Waterfront Renaissance Trail. The new stairway has 15 steps and three landings made of galvanized steel with grating supported by concrete, as well as handrails on either side.

The project cost $34,308.

“Hopefully, they’ll last forever,” Art Rojsza said.

Although the Ferndale couple planned to finish the stairs by August, the project took longer to complete than expected. Stairs are among the more technical construction projects, Art Rojsza said. In this case, they couldn’t use heavy machinery to dig the hillside or install the steel stairs, so they used shovels and carried the pieces to the site.

The couple also built a set of concrete stairs at Larch Corrections Center.

Previously, there were seven railroad ties that had rotted, and the ground next to the steps had eroded. It made the pathway along the railroad and down into the park treacherous for nearby residents and regulars to the park. While neighbors initially offered to pay for and install new railroad ties as a quick, cost-effective way of improving the walkway, the city chose to go with a costlier, longer-term solution. The stairs are designed to be sturdy and safe while mitigating any environmental impact.

“In terms of price and product, we went with an extremely durable steel solution, instead of just installing the same railroad ties that do not wear well and will eventually be unsafe due to weather and erosion,” Julie Hannon, director of Vancouver Parks and Recreation, said in an email. “These stairs required plans and specifications that are approved by an engineer. The product is also a steel material that required off-site fabrication and galvanizing. A few inspections were also required. All these items add up to a much more durable, safe and sustainable solution, but there are costs associated with the higher-quality solution.”

There is a fee to park at Wintler Park, which has encouraged more people to park along Riverside Drive and walk through the east entrance. While the old stairs weren’t a big deal for young people who could navigate the eroded hillside, retirees such as Julie Sanders chose to walk the long way around.

She took her dog, a 14-year-old Westie named Casey, to the park Sept. 13 to see the new stairway.

“It’s nice that they’re done and safe,” she said. “They are pretty fancy.”

Sanders lives in a nearby condo and walks along the Waterfront Renaissance Trail a few days each week.

During the weeks spent working on the stairs this summer, the Rojszas saw hundreds of people walk through the area.

“We have never, never heard so many compliments and thanks,” Art Rojsza said.