Two sets of Carmel beach stairs battered by winter storms remain closed nine months later.

Rising tides and crashing waves last winter battered the timber staircases that carry people down steep bluffs to the white sands of Carmel Beach. Two sets of stairs were badly damaged – between 9th and 10th avenues and 10th and 13th avenues – and remain boarded up nine months later, much to the frustration of some residents who question why it’s taking so long for the city to fix them.

“We’ve definitely been working on it but it’s not as simple as putting a few more screws in it,” Assistant City Manager Brandon Swanson says.

The city is facing a dilemma in part due to the challenge of sea level rise and increased storm activity, he says. It’s in the middle of a lengthy coastal engineering study expected to make recommendations on protecting Carmel’s coastline with possible seawalls and revetments. They may also include adapting the staircases – the existing 11 sets of stairs built decades ago were never designed to withstand today’s storms, Swanson says. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have failed.”

The stringers of the shuttered stairs – the long pieces of wood that run down the sides of the stairs holding the treads together – are cracked. Swanson is awaiting bids from contractors who recently investigated the damage.

The question becomes: Does the city spend money now on what may be costly repairs, or wait until the study is finished and see what the recommendations may bring? The study could take over a year to complete.

If the repair cost is low, it may be worth repairing them immediately. If the cost is in the hundreds of thousands, the Carmel City Council may opt to wait. The numbers, Swanson says, will drive which path the city takes.