For those who live in Vancouver’s Riverview neighborhood, Wintler Park is a sort of outdoor living room — but one they have to walk to carefully. To access the park from the east side, they head down Southeast Chelsea Avenue, cross the railroad tracks and walk along a fenced pathway.
Seven steps made of railroad ties lead down to the main paved path that connects with the Waterfront Renaissance Trail. The steps are rotted, with metal and rebar sticking out of the ground, and a narrow space next to the steps has eroded. It’s an area where people walk gingerly, for fear of a misstep resulting in injury.
“The problem is, they’re not maintained and have become a safety issue,” said Steve Smith, who’s spearheading a neighborhood effort to replace the stairs. He’s lived in a condo close to the park for 12 years.
Chuck Brunner, who’s lived nearby for 30 years, tried to fix the erosion next to the stairs by putting in some rocks, but that remedy didn’t last long, he said. Over the years, the erosion has made the path more treacherous.
“We’re certainly willing to do work,” he said.
Gail Welsh, who’s lived in nearby condos for 10 years, is part of a walking group that takes the stairs every day for a 5-mile walk along the Renaissance Trail. She’s seen people carry bikes and baby strollers up and down the hill. In the cooler months, it gets slick, and the east entrance is dotted with puddles.
“We do think there’s some creative ways to solve it without a lot of money and time,” Welsh said.
She figures neighbors could swap out the seven rotted railroad ties for some new ones from Lowe’s. The group that’s rallied around the issue doesn’t mind footing the bill or being the “grunt workers.” They already pick up trash, trim back ivy and have offered to paint over graffiti defacing a wall near the stairway.
Welsh doesn’t want to diminish the work Vancouver Parks and Recreation staff do. She sees them cleaning Wintler Park and hopes a partnership could lead to the steps being fixed.
“It’s a great community resource, and we want it to be pristine,” Janet Mays said. She’s lived in the area for nine years.
This week, Vancouver Parks and Recreation looks to meet with Smith to talk about working together to replace the stairs, said parks director Julie Hannon.
“If we can just replace and repair them, it probably won’t be an engineering thing. It just depends on the approach we take,” Hannon said.
The stairs are one of many park improvement projects that lack available funding. The Vancouver City Council set aside $300,000 both for this year and next year for park improvement projects. There’s a $9.2 million backlog.
Over the summer, the parks department worked with the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington, the Southwest Washington Contractors Association, the Recreation Advisory Commission and several volunteers to replace aging and broken picnic tables in Marine Park.
“Those type of things, when they can come together, are great for everybody,” Hannon said.
