Post-industrial public steps could use some love, attention

Audio By Carbonatix

PHILADELPHIA — Stairways were always rising and falling in Pennsylvania’s industrial towns. Long, wooden steps carried workers down to the mills in Manayunk and businesses in Jim Thorpe, then back up to their homes in the hilly streets at night. Over the centuries, wood was replaced by stone, then patched with concrete, then barely maintained at all in some towns. Today, many stairways, like the majestic, stone “99 Steps” in this Northumberland County coal town, are closed and crumbling. Maintenance of public stairways often falls on municipalities. In other towns, like Jim Thorpe, there’s been a debate over who owns specific stairways and, more importantly, who’s liable for the insurance.