City Condemns Little Used Steps to Main Street

The city condemned a little used stairway connecting Main Street to Cresson Street, according to Streets Department officials.

About 12 people a day traverse the city-owned public stairway that runs between Little Cresson Street (aka 3600 Cresson Street) and Main Street, near the CVS, Streets Department spokesperson Keisha McCarty-Skelton said. Due to the shabby state of those steps, they are now closed.

"The Department of Streets closed the Dawson St. public stairway... The stairway’s foundations were in a state of failure," she said.

Little Cresson Street only has access from Ridge Avenue and contains a small amount of homes, Henkel Roofing and potentially an entrance to proposed apartment developments at the former Wilde Yarns Factory. A bridge over the SEPTA regional rail link connects Dawson Street to Little Cresson, and formerly continued down a steep stairwell to Main Street.

Members from the Wissahickon Neighbors Civic Association wondered as to the step's future at the group's Nov. 5 meeting. Originally, it was thought SEPTA owned the steps but they actually are city property.

The closure happened around Hurricane Sandy and people were unsure as to its cause and if a renovation was in store. 

However, McCarty-Skelton said funding wasn't in place currently and the steps were closed due to safety concerns.

"Replacement with a modern code compliant stairway is estimated to cost $650,000. We will be researching opportunities to fund the project as currently there are none available," she said.

Recently, the bridge over the regional rail line from Dawson Street underwent renovations. Although the link to Main Street is severed, that train bridge is safe.

"The Dawson St. foot bridge over the SEPTA tracks, which serves the residents of Cresson Street, will remain open. The foot bridge is unaffected by the closure of the stairway," she said.