City says steps will cost at least $65,000; man builds them for $550 (opens in new tab)

I see two approaches to general government contracting. One is the proactive approach which would require some government agency to find "approved" vendors and micromanage the project. The other would be a liability approach, which would essentially mean that the overall goal of a project is provided and the lowest bid is taken across a large pool of contractors. However, if it is built very poorly and someone gets hurt, the contractor would be liable in court. The proactive approach has its appeal, but often results in higher costs and not necessarily better quality since the vendors and requirements are set by politicians and unaccountable, unelected committees.

I believe we are closer to the first in most cities, but I would much rather prefer the second.

But in this case, they lead to a less safe situation. I'm all for regulations and bylaws that actually make cities safer and more liveable, but here the city put extra effort into making the city less safe because the safety wasn't done according to their regulations. And it sounds like they're still not doing it the way it should be done.

That is of course assuming that this is a place where people walk, but it sounds like it is, and people did apparently get hurt in the stairless situation.

Exactly. And Bureaucracy doesn't necessarily suck on it's own. When it's used properly it protects people who are unable to protect themselves due to funding or ignorance.

and when no one can do what they please you know you live in America.

Now, get back to flipping bits.

Here's a "review" of the steps from a Twitter user:

https://twitter.com/zchamu/status/888076067168301056

But did they build proper stairs? Because crappy stairs may still be better than no stairs at all. Depending on how crappy, of course. If they look safe but collapse, the crappy stairs might lure people in who wouldn't otherwise try to walk there. Still, I wonder if it wouldn't have made more sense to only remove the cheap stairs when they're going to build the proper stairs.

In other news, man builds paper mache airplane for $5,000 after being flabbergasted that Boeing quoted a price of $10,000,000 for a new jet.

The lack of stairs had already lead to injury, though.

The price comparison in the title is indeed unfair.