If you're an able-bodied Hintonburg resident who takes the Transitway, you've probably at some point climbed the hill next to the Tom Brown Arena. It's a quick-if-steep shortcut that connects the neighbourhood with Albert Street, allowing transit users access to both Bayview Station and the O-Train.

Now, the city wants people to stay off the hill. They've erected a sign warning people that the pathway is private property and that anyone who uses it is trespassing. And perhaps predictably, the sign's been vandalized by people demanding a staircase be installed. Spacing Ottawa has the photographic evidence in this post by Eric Darwin, in which the WestSideAction blogger writes about the city's hesitance to improve accessibility:

Residents have been vocal about this slope for years. The need for a staircase or proper path has been identified in the Neighborhood Improvement Plan, the transportation studies, the LRT studies … yet nothing gets done. Indeed, the upcoming Albert reconstruction plans specifically exclude any improvements to this section of Albert. The City knows any fixes will be expensive.

RELATED: Bayview Station needs better access, say residents

This isn't the first time we've written about Hintonburg residents' concerns over the treacherous incline. In January, Linda Hoad of the Hintonburg Community Association called the lack of a staircase "ridiculous," given the city's big talk about embracing public transit. She also said that in 2008, someone affixed a rope to the guard rail at the top of the hill to help people make the climb safely.

Darwin writes that the ongoing evolution of the city's long-term plans for Bayview Station may have been part of the reason why the stairs haven't been built. He adds that installing stairs there wouldn't be "a walk in the park" due to the size of the slope and the need for constant maintenance. But he expresses hope that the forthcoming O-Train multi-use corridor might address the accessibility question.

Until then, however, the sign will probably remain. Whether it does anything to prevent people from using the path is a different question.

Photo by Samantha Everts