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Park board approves contractor to revise Stop 22 stairs after resident safety complaints
Summary
The Long Beach Park Board voted on June 23 to hire Swood and Associates to extend a wooden step at Stop 22 to eliminate a safety lip after a resident raised concerns that the new steps remained too narrow and hazardous.
The Long Beach Park Board voted to hire Swood and Associates to extend the wooden step at Stop 22 to eliminate a two‑inch lip that residents said created a safety hazard.
The motion to engage the contractor was made during the board's June 23 meeting and was seconded by Park Board member Margaret Egleston; the board approved the motion by voice vote. The work is intended to remove the lip where the new steps meet a metal grate and improve the landing geometry.
Resident Mary Cla Loftess, of 2202 Chasselton Drive, used the public‑comment period to say she first raised safety and legal concerns about the Stop 22 steps last October. She told the board she had expected 42‑inch‑wide steps but that the installed steps are 30 inches wide and remain “very dangerous,” particularly for older residents. “This is what we wanted. This is what we have. It's still very dangerous going down these very narrow steps,” she said.
Board members responded by explaining design and funding constraints. A board member said Stop 21 had been rebuilt with state money and emergency stabilization work that cost “hundreds of thousands” and therefore could not be directly compared to the Stop 22 repair, which the board said was completed to code. The chair and other members noted that engineering requirements require the landing to be attached to the seawall, limiting the maximum width of the stairs.
The motion as recorded in the meeting did not list a mover by name in the audio; the second was recorded as Margaret Egleston. The board identified the contractor as Swood and Associates and confirmed the work plan to extend the outer wooden step so the landing no longer leaves a lip over the metal grate. No detailed timeline or contract amount was provided at the meeting.
Next steps: the board approved the contractor engagement and said staff will follow up with scheduling and contractor quotes. The record at the meeting indicates the change was approved by voice vote but did not record individual vote tallies.
