If city council wants to go forward with an idea to add stairs to the top of Connaught Hill, they could have to budget for more than $600,000.
According to a report from operations staff, preliminary numbers for design, materials, and installation of a metal staircase along the west ridge of Connaught Hill from the existing trail and stairs on Connaught Drive to the top of the hill come in at $615,000. The proposed stairs would cover a distance of 79 metres and would have an elevation change of 29 metres.
During Monday night's meeting, council asked staff to refine that cost - and hopefully lower it - and move the project to next year's list of unfunded capital projects.
During the 2014 budget discussions held in December, Coun. Albert Koehler requested such a project be added to the city's capital plan.
A metal staircase currently links Connaught Drive at Oak Street to downtown from Lower Patricia Boulevard at 10th Avenue. Once there, pedestrians wishing to continue on to the top of Connaught Hill Park can either climb an undeveloped dirt path up the west slope of the hill or use Caine Drive.
"The installation of a metal stairway up the west slope of Connaught Hill would provide easier, year-round access from the downtown to the top of Connaught Hill," said the staff report.
Councillors Brian Skakun and Frank Everitt didn't join the rest of council in supporting the project's advancement.
"We're wasting our time putting this on a wishlist," Skakun said, while Everitt said a better idea would be to have buses tour up to Connaught Hill to drop people off.
