Pete Moye’
News Button

The right side of a staircase facing south of the Learning Resource Center Building of Cerritos College has been blocked with yellow tape marked “Police Line Do Not Cross.”

The problem is a metal tread that has curved upward, posing a hazard to pedestrians.

According to the Facilities Department, the treads on this stairwell have come loose three times in just three years, which means they needed drastic overhaul or complete change.

Tom Richey, Facilities manager, explained that the cause of the problem was not the treads themselves but the base that was holding them, which has lost its capacity to hold the tread-mounting due to aging since the early 1960s when it was built.

He would repair the base first before deciding how to deal with the old treads.

Richey is waiting for estimates from companies who can strengthen the steps with “finished cement work” and is hoping to complete the repairs in about three weeks.

Richey added, “It looks like somebody bent it up. That’s not an natural occurrence.

“What we are experiencing is now is the cement under the treads is deteriorating, and we are not able to secure the treads back the way we want to,” he said.

Richey said that the treads sticking out is a tripping hazard.

“I don’t think you’ll see that by treading on it normally, or lifting it or some other thing, so there is a possibility of that mild vandalism.”

Pharmacy major Emanuel Rodriguez’s attention was drawn to the staircase. He said, “Now that I’m aware of it, I should be careful.”

Randall Siggson, a paralegal major, said he uses the stairwell regularly, and that he considers that someone must have tried to remove the metal tread for his own use.