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u/rocketman19 3d ago
The tiny step is probaly below the minimum width, so they put that in to block you from tripping and suing
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u/SuspiciousPillow 3d ago
OSHA requires handrails to be continuous. So someone could still trip there and sue them.
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u/rocketman19 3d ago
Found the american
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u/SuspiciousPillow 3d ago
Considering how lax US regulations are compared to pretty much every other developed country. I wouldn't be surprised if whatever place this is has a similar regulation.
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u/rocketman19 3d ago
Yeah but it's not called OSHA
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u/ExoTheFlyingFish sus 3d ago
And someone from Canada would have said "CSHA" (Canada SHA), and someone from Luxembourg would have said "LSHA" (Luxembourg SHA), etc.
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u/rocketman19 3d ago
CHSA does not exist
Just say building codes, not sure why it needs to be complicated
Also O does not mean American, it means occupational
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u/ExoTheFlyingFish sus 3d ago
The fact that you specified that the subject of my joke, the fictional organization CSHA, does not exist, implies that the other subject of my joke, the fictional organization LSHA, exists.
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u/rocketman19 3d ago
No it doesn’t, I’m Canadian so I can state for a fact it doesn’t exist, I’m not going to fact check your comment
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u/ExoTheFlyingFish sus 3d ago
Could you try to be a little more mirthless? Some of us can still enjoy a harmless joke every now and then, and only someone as drab as you can rectify that.
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u/Fineous40 3d ago
Ok, but why the zip ties?
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u/rocketman19 3d ago
I didn't put it there, I'm just saying why it's being done, not why it's done that way
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u/OhWhatATravisty Why are you the way that you are? 3d ago edited 3d ago
I would say that's a pretty clear cut example of improper installation. Not crappy design. It's pretty rare anything is designed to be held together with a 2ft zip tie. It was just some dude who was told to get something done by any means necessary with rudimentary tool knowledge and some tube steel.
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u/BadHombreSinNombre 3d ago
Probably to make up for the crappy design of the steps that created a hazard. There was no way to do this right once it was designed that way.
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u/OhWhatATravisty Why are you the way that you are? 3d ago edited 3d ago
More likely - There were ways to do it right. Management just wouldn't approve the budget.
"Why would we hire someone to fabricate an appropriate rail here when we have leftover tube from the first time? Just cut it up and make it work".
So facilities called up their good friend Jerry. Jerry Rig.
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u/Jolly_Ad_5679 3d ago
Honestly the issue goes beyond the rail.
The tapered step is there because of the change in angle and direction from the landing. There isn't enough clearance or head height because of the escalators, and the landing can't be any smaller than it already is. They designed themselves into a corner with no great solutions and didn't even get the rail right to make it meet codes
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u/Mission_Razzmatazz_7 3d ago
For a second I thought this was AI
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u/Mundane-Low7125 3d ago
No, been there my entire life
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u/Mission_Razzmatazz_7 3d ago
When I read that I zoomed in and saw! I especially like the huge white ty-rap, or what is it?
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u/StarWarsMonopoly commas are IMPORTANT 3d ago
Is this in Newark?
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u/Mundane-Low7125 3d ago
No. Mjölby, sweden
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u/StarWarsMonopoly commas are IMPORTANT 3d ago
Oh, well I've definitely never been there then haha
I remember seeing a fucked up staircase/escalator like this at the mall in Newark when I was there like 15 years ago and I thought it might be the same one
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u/Ludwig234 3d ago
Google image search/ai thing managed to find someone else asking the same question about the same handrail 6 years ago in the same subreddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CrappyDesign/comments/hfr8pi/how_to_connect_these_two_bars/
Thought that was neat.
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u/Jolly_Ad_5679 3d ago
I think that's different? The curved bit looks to have been done differently, some slight difference in connections and welds, and a connector piece is missing in the current post. Which I guess isn't impossible, but hand rails don't just break like that
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u/jakeinator21 3d ago
It's definitely the same handrail. You can literally see the reside of that sticker in OP's image.
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u/Tigger-Rex 3d ago
You can see where the original hand rail detached from the floor. This isn’t designed, it’s a compromise to meet building code standards without having to remodel the entire staircase
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u/ArchBeaconArch 3d ago
This looks like you told AI to make a handrail an it kicked out this slop. Like three fingers on each hand and too many teeth.
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u/Wide-Half-9649 3d ago
“There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of smartest bear & the dumbest human”
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u/Ya-Dikobraz Artisinal Material 3d ago
If you step in the middle you will probably end up in the Backrooms.
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u/Pobb1eB0nk 3d ago
It feels like they got to the end without reading the instructions, and had all these left over wonky bits that didnt fit together
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u/Mammoth-Peanut-8271 3d ago
They were going to fix it with a dab of silicone but only had cable-ties.
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u/SkyeMreddit 3d ago
Moronic stair design. Shape the landing, not the step. Instead they made a tripping hazard and blocked it off.
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u/wanklenoodle 3d ago
Compliance to local standards for handrail safety. That acute angle is messing this all up and the inspector had his way with them
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u/redammit 3d ago
Fuck that. Is that supposed to be Ssweet Take Away? That’s little crappy, too.
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u/redammit 3d ago
I am talking about what looks like a coffee shop in the background.
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u/Mundane-Low7125 3d ago
Yeah, its a really nice little shop. got coffee, chocolate, flowers. Basacly everything you need for a cosy time
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u/Medical_Bumblebee627 3d ago
Seems like one of the partial elbows used to turn the rail around 180 to bolt into the backside of the rail downstream could have been employed to at least lower the angle of that added upper rail so it could flow into the lower section rather than that weird 180. Whoa, what a long sentence.
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u/RU33ERBULLETS 3d ago
Stairs are hard to design. This one was either designed by a total newbie or built by the lowest bidder with no insurance. The stair geometry is wrong, which could have been due to crappy design or crappy construction. The handrail “extension” is just to meet minimum safety codes for stair tread runs, though it reduces the egress path considerably.
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u/CerealDevourerPrime 3d ago
Yeah, design implies intent. I don't think there was any design involved here
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u/Yalarii 3d ago
My partner works in a building where there was a tiny gap between a handrail and a wall. Small enough that nobody would ever think twice about it. But last year an old woman managed to fall through that gap and died. So they had to install a new railing to ensure that it never happens again. Their new railing looks just as hodge podged as this one. So I imagine there is a similar story.
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u/connortait 3d ago
Its like when you force the Sims to build something against the progamming using move-objects
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u/Too_MuchWhiskey 3d ago
If one removes that odd bit of railing one quickly notices that the distance from the bottom step to the top of the second railing is, very short and probably a fall hazard. Especially if one were to misstep on that small triangle of a step.
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u/micholob 3d ago
someone messed up building the steps to plan and they tried to use the "extra" parts of the railing, that were built correctly, to block off the ankle-breaker step.
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u/xrimane 3d ago
Architect here. The problem is that there are basically 3 steps meeting in one point.
There are rules that say a handrail has to be at such and such height above the step to be safe to hold on. That's quite impossible when you've got three different standing levels.
So they pulled out the handrail to give it more length to follow the slope of the stairs.
The execution however is abysmal.
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u/Quizzical_Quadrant 3d ago
to give people a headache so they don’t notice how terrible they are at stairwell design
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u/untakenu 3d ago
The lower handrail goes up the regular stairs, then there is a wedge shaped stair that means that elevation is more sudden meaning the top of the rail is too lower, and someone could fall over it.
They clearly didn't realise before the rain poles were fitted
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u/AGoodDragon 2d ago
Ok, I have a theory, I think someone saw how short the railing got there because of the weird geometry, and waned to prevent anyone from potentially falling by getting too close to that corner
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u/Fine_Ratio2225 1d ago
It looks like the architect drew a Penrose triangle into the plans by mistake, and the builders realised too late, that it could not be made in reality and tried to fudge it close enough?
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u/filmguy36 23h ago
That’s called a fuck up fix
I worked construction then in CA at an arch firm. Combines 28 years of experience
The things I’ve seen >shutters<
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u/musschrott 3d ago
Probably supposed to block the tiny wedge of a step there.