Councilman Kevin Faulconer and city representatives announced the allotment of about $75,000 in Proposition 40 state bond funds to fix 600 feet of rusted handrails next to Crystal Pier at a press conference Tuesday, Oct. 2.
The new, stainless steel rails will replace the 10- to 12-year-old galvanized rails which now pose a danger with rusty, jagged edges. The new rails should last about 25 years, Faulconer said.
“The safety rail has to function, and with this new rail it will last twice as long,” he said, adding that the rail is a small but important safety, as well as aesthetic, feature of the walkway between Crystal Pier and the lifeguard tower.
Over the course of about a month, city work forces have replaced about half of the dilapidated handrail, Bruce Faz with the city’s fleet services division said.
Faz said city services should finish replacing the rail within the next 15 to 30 days.
Complaints about the corroded handrail jump-started the replacement process, which had been in the planning stages for several months, Faulconer said. He added that the rails were next in a long line of deferred maintenance the city needs to complete.
Stacy LoMedico, director of the city’s Park and Recreation Department, said the department will be working with the fleet services division to complete the work.
“The best part is that city crews did the [construction],” LoMedico said.
Some of the most damaged sections of the rail had been eroded completely through, she said. Other sections had only a small ribbon of yellow police caution tape wrapped around sharp edges to warn passersby.
The city would pay for the replacement using funds from Proposition 40, the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002.
According to the League of Women Voters website, 56.9 percent of California voters approved of the $2.6 billion measure for the restoration and improvement of state and local park as well as the protection of natural resources.