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Toronto man builds steps for $550 that city said would cost between $65,000 to $150,000
Louder with Crowder ^ | 07/21/2017 | Courtney Kirtchoff

Posted on 07/23/2017 8:00:59 AM PDT by gattaca

Oh Canada. The City of Toronto estimated the cost of new steps would range between $65,000-$150,000. Like everything else, the city also dragged their feet in getting the work done.

Fed up, a Toronto man built the steps for $550. No, I didn’t forget zeros. Five-hundred and fifty dollars.

So of course the city tore the steps down.

retiree in Toronto was unhappy with the length of time the city was taking to build a flight of stairs on a precarious slope. And so he did it himself — at a fraction of the cost.

Adi Astl, with the help of a homeless man he hired, built eight steps for $550, more than 100 times cheaper than the $65,000-$150,000 the city had estimated for the job.

Gee, it’s almost as if the private market via private citizens are more skilled, capable, and feel a greater sense of urgency than the elected officials who read notes from TelePrompters. Who’d have thunk it.


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To: gattaca

Betting on “arrested and sued into poverty with the year”.


21 posted on 07/23/2017 8:27:37 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: gattaca

He should have spent a little more on footings. Those stairs won’t last through winter.


22 posted on 07/23/2017 8:28:21 AM PDT by caltaxed (ui)
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To: gattaca

The city will probably bill him for the cost of tearing out his work.


23 posted on 07/23/2017 8:29:40 AM PDT by Typelouder
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To: gattaca

His steps probably weren’t ADA compliant.


24 posted on 07/23/2017 8:30:41 AM PDT by Retired Chemist
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To: VRW Conspirator

That’s a great idea!


25 posted on 07/23/2017 8:31:25 AM PDT by gattaca ("Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." Ronald Reagan)
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To: caltaxed
He should have spent a little more on footings...

The picture I saw had the middle stairs significantly cantilevered. That will not survive long with the torque of heavy people going up/down on the edges.

26 posted on 07/23/2017 8:32:10 AM PDT by C210N (It is easier to fool the people than convince them that they have been fooled)
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To: The people have spoken

He did put in Hand Rails.


27 posted on 07/23/2017 8:33:19 AM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country.)
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To: adorno

How long did it take to tear the steps down? How much did it cost? This man must be jailed. An example must be made. If subjects are allowed to do these things thousands of clerical workers, inspectors, and enforcers will be put out of work or forced to watch pornography all day.


28 posted on 07/23/2017 8:35:15 AM PDT by Vehmgericht
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To: Typelouder
The city will probably bill him for the cost of tearing out his work.

If $500 stairs would cost Toronto $65k-$150k, perhaps the tear-down will cost 150k-300k. Especially if they plan to bill the guy for it.

29 posted on 07/23/2017 8:35:50 AM PDT by C210N (It is easier to fool the people than convince them that they have been fooled)
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To: gattaca

This is a universal truth about government that the left refuses to acknowledge because it would doom their argument for big government. Look at how aid to the needy is distributed by government through welfare in comparison to the efficiency of organizations like the Salvation Army. Government loses, hands down.


30 posted on 07/23/2017 8:45:53 AM PDT by Spok ("What're you going to believe-me or your own eyes?" -Marx (Groucho))
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To: The people have spoken

> He probably forgot the parallel ramp for the disabled. <

Two young fellows opened up a sandwich shop near where I live (U.S., not Canada). I like to patronize local businesses, so I stopped in.

There were no tables for customers anywhere in the store! Just a few chairs along the walls.

I thought that was odd, to say the least. So I asked the owner about it. He said that for new restaurants, regulations dictate that if you do not have a disabled-friendly rest room, you cannot have tables in your store.

He couldn’t afford such a rest room. So no tables.

It’s no surprise that I never saw any cars in their parking lot. Who would want to eat in a place that had no tables? The store closed after about two months.

Sad. Tragic, actually. Dreams were crushed for no good reason.


31 posted on 07/23/2017 8:48:14 AM PDT by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: GSWarrior

Hmmm...third line in the short excerpt...”So of course the city tore the steps down.”

Maybe change your screen name to GSHeadlineReader?


32 posted on 07/23/2017 8:51:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Cboldt

Our small town, in MA.,just paid an ungodly amount of money to reconfigure the town parking lot. It services about a dozen businesses and folks who keep their boats in the town marina. It’s a major cluster**k! No one knows which way to drive and they put up signs designating how long you can park in a particular spot. It was totally unnecessary as it was a pretty simple layout to begin with.
I get the feeling that they just sit and try and figure out how much of the taxpayer’s money they can flush.


33 posted on 07/23/2017 9:02:59 AM PDT by surrey
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To: gattaca

34 posted on 07/23/2017 9:05:15 AM PDT by aquila48
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To: Blennos

The article did not say the steps were removed

At a glance, no hand rails. The steps likely do not comply with codes, especially requirements for hand rails. By leaving the steps in place which the city apparently did, the steps are a law suit magnet.


35 posted on 07/23/2017 9:06:22 AM PDT by bert (K.E.; N.P.; GOPc;WASP .... The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I beg your forgiveness.


36 posted on 07/23/2017 9:06:32 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: GSWarrior

LOL...granted!

Hope you’re having a good Sunday. Sorry for the snark...just can’t help it sometimes.


37 posted on 07/23/2017 9:10:00 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I could have removed those steps for $75.00.


38 posted on 07/23/2017 9:13:27 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: JPJones

He will get no thanks for showing the city what fools and wastrels they have as leaders.


39 posted on 07/23/2017 9:15:31 AM PDT by Vlad The Inhaler (We were Trumpin' before Trumpin' was cool.....)
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To: gattaca

Government always pads the bill. That’s why “single-payer” is such a bad idea, because what it really means is that every single health care dollar passes through the sticky fingers of government.


40 posted on 07/23/2017 9:20:23 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Some people consider government to be a necessary evil, others their personal Ponzi scheme.)
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