Toronto's mayor is asking city staff to sharpen their pencils to see if they can't do better than $65,000 at the bottom end to build a simple staircase.
The idea is to help people safely use a shortcut that runs down a steep embankment at Tom Riley Park near Bloor St W and Islington Ave.
Visitors had been gripping a yellow rope tied to help them guide them down the slope. But the descent didn't always go smoothly. Area resident Gail Rutherford says a number of her friends have fallen, one woman reportedly broke her wrist.
Then, about a month ago, Rutherford's 73-year-old husband Adi Astl took matters into his own hands.
He went lumber shopping, recruited one person to help and together they built an eight step wooden staircase in about 12 hours. The cost, some $550.