Those stairs from Brewster Gardens up to Main Street Extension are finally just a step or two from being completed.
The existing stairway, which climbed to the Emond Building on Main Street Extension at the Café Strega terrace, had badly deteriorated over the years. It was eventually blocked off after being deemed a hazard. For walkers, the path to nowhere was frustrating. For businesses on that end of downtown, the crumbling stairway and blocked access were another obstacle to luring tourists from the waterfront. Pedestrians had to hike up Leyden Street to reach downtown, which meant backtracking through the park.
The project was stalled for years before getting the go-ahead in 2023, with a price tag of $164,000. Work began late in the year and was supposed to be finished by early February.
Nick Faiella, Plymouth’s parks and forestry superintendent, said the nearly two-month delay was caused by an “unexpected long wait for the railings to be powder coated.” That method of protecting metal railings is considered more durable than traditional paint and should require less maintenance over time.
Faiella said the project is coming in on budget and only required a couple of minor changes – repairing some of the lower concrete landings that were already in place and repointing the bottom section of the stairs.
He said on Monday that a final walkthrough with the contractor is pending and that if all goes well, “we should be ready to open” next week.
That means it should be a walk in – and up from – the park, just in time for the spring and summer tourist seasons.
Mark Pothier can be reached at mark@plymouthindependent.org.