A person exits an elevator on the ground floor of City Hall in Palo Alto on Dec. 12, 2022. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
News
A person exits an elevator on the ground floor of City Hall in Palo Alto on Dec. 12, 2022. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
by Sue Dremann / Palo Alto Weekly
Uploaded: Wed, Dec 14, 2022, 9:20 am 11
Time to read: about 6 minutes
What goes up doesn’t always come down. That’s the issue with some elevators in Palo Alto and Stanford, data from the Palo Alto Fire Department shows.
The breakdowns, which are often cataloged on the fire dispatch app PulsePoint, show that “elevator rescues” aren’t an uncommon occurrence — nor are they limited to Palo Alto and Stanford. The alert notifications of these incidents, to which fire departments respond, come multiple times a week from all over San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Palo Alto fire’s calls for elevator rescue service this year have thus far surpassed all of 2021, according to the calls for service log. In 2021, there were 66 calls: 41 at Stanford and 25 in Palo Alto. This year, through Nov. 6, there were 74 total calls: 38 at Stanford and 36 in Palo Alto. The number has since climbed, with a total of 80 or more calls for service related to elevator rescues when considering more recent PulsePoint notifications.
Where are the most broken-down elevators in Palo Alto? In the No. 1 spot is the Bryant Street parking garage, located at 445 Bryant St. The location experienced 14 elevator rescue calls between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 11, 2022, according to the fire dispatch data. In second and third places are two locations on the Stanford University campus: seven incidents were recorded at the Escondido Village high-rises, a graduate housing facility at 737 Campus Drive, and six at the Duan Family Hall undergraduate housing building at 757 Campus Drive.

The numbers can be a bit deceiving. Some buildings, such as Stanford Hospital at 500 Pasteur Drive, have multiple elevators listed in the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) elevator inspection database. Whether the multiple breakdowns occurred in one elevator or in different locations isn’t known. Yet, some individual elevators have multiple breakdowns.
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The state’s inspection database lists 2,227 individual elevators in Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park and Mountain View, but 1,460 (66%), had expired permits as of Dec. 6.
California has a serious backlog in elevator inspections. Out of the total 790 elevators listed in the state’s inspection database for Palo Alto, 594 had expired permits and had not been reviewed by a state elevator inspector as of Dec. 6. At Stanford, 209 elevators out of 364 in the state’s database have expired permits.
The numbers are equally concerning in neighboring cities. Out of 382 Menlo Park elevators in the state’s database, 310 had not been recently inspected and had expired permits, with only 72 having active permits. In Mountain View, there were 688 elevators in the database, with 344 having expired permits.
The Bryant Street garage, arguably the poster child for elevator breakdowns, had two rescues in 2001 and 12 in 2022, the latter incidents occurring between March and July.
City spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said one of the two elevators in the garage had an intermittent problem that took some time for the elevator company to troubleshoot and repair.
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“Vandalism and issues with unhoused persons may have also been a factor,” she said in an email.
State inspections are supposed to be annual. “If corrective actions are required, the elevator maintenance company is required to complete the repairs before the state issues the new permit,” she said.
The city’s parking garage elevators and the current state permit expiration date for each are as follows:

“Our experience is that the state is a little behind in their annual inspections with our elevators but not to the extent that other companies have experienced,” Horrigan-Taylor said.
The backlog is also more than 2 years old. The state’s inspection database showed a few elevators haven’t been inspected since 2018. Some were inspected in later years but still show expired permits as far back as 2017. The state Department of Industrial Relations didn’t explain why these permits weren’t renewed after inspections.
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Most of the elevators with expired permits had their last inspections in 2021 and 2022. According to the elevator database, 686 of the permits for Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Stanford expired in 2021 and have not yet been inspected; in 2022 through Dec. 6, an additional 735 elevators haven’t been inspected and have expired permits.
There are nine elevator inspectors in the DIR’s San Jose office, which covers Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and other cities on the Peninsula. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which is in charge of the hiring and inspection process, is working to hire three more, the department said in an email..
“Cal/OSHA acknowledges the need for elevator inspectors to ensure this critical work can be accomplished in a timely manner. Hiring is a top priority for the Division, and Cal/OSHA is currently working to fill newly established positions in addition to vacant positions in the Elevator Unit. Elevator Safety Inspectors require a very specialized skill set, and Cal/OSHA has been expanding its recruitment strategies to find interested and qualified candidates,” the DIR said.
So how dangerous are expired elevators?
The chances of an elevator cable breaking or the elevator crashing to the ground are slim, according to Otis, the world’s largest elevator manufacturer. Most elevators can stop when there are power outages, if there’s a mechanical or electrical malfunction in the system or when passengers misuse equipment.
Palo Alto Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally speaks at a “Meet the Chiefs” at Mitchell Park Community Center on July 12, 2018. Photo by Veronica Weber.
Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally said although an injury can occur, he hasn’t seen an injury as a result of a malfunctioning elevator in his 18 years with the department. The most frequent causes of elevator breakdowns are issues such as a button that won’t open a door or an elevator stuck between floors, he said.
The Fire Department doesn’t crack open the elevator anymore to rescue people in most cases because it can cause too much damage that might lead to replacing the entire elevator, he said. In most instances, the department is there to monitor if someone is stuck inside. An elevator company is called to fix the problem so that people can escape.
Often, it’s a matter of turning the power off and on to reset the elevator. Sometimes, by the time the Fire Department responds the people are already out, McNally said.
After the passengers are freed, the elevator is tagged until the repairs are made.
Cal/OSHA doesn’t track the dates elevators get serviced.
“That is a matter that rests between the elevator owner/operator and the elevator maintenance company it hired. Elevators are required to be properly serviced and maintained by the building owner and their certified elevator maintenance company, even when operating with expired permits. All building owners should have a maintenance contract with a California-certified elevator company,” the DIR said.
Palo Alto has a contract with an elevator contractor that performs monthly, quarterly and annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs. Horrigan-Taylor said.

Valid permit or not, building owners would do well to have their elevators routinely inspected and repaired by a maintenance company. Under California law, public elevators are considered “common carriers,” much like a taxi, bus or other transportation conveyance serving the general public.
Civil Code section 2100 requires that a common carrier “must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill.”
Further putting the onus on property owners, another civil code, section 2101, further states that a common carrier is “bound to provide vehicles safe and fit for the purposes to which they are put, and is not excused for default in this respect by any degree of care.”
A California Supreme Court decision also found that “common carriers bind themselves to carry safely those whom they take into their vehicles, and owe both a duty of utmost care and the vigilance of a very cautious person towards their passengers. Such carriers are responsible for any, even the slightest, negligence and are required to do all that human care, vigilance, and foresight reasonably can do under all the circumstances.”
Juries are required to apply a similar standard when deliberating in a civil trial.
If an elevator stops, the first thing to do is to remain calm, according to experts. If the lights are out, passengers should look for a source of light. Most people have cellphones that can illuminate a space and many phones have a built-in flashlight app. If there’s cellphone coverage, passengers can call police dispatch or use Wi-Fi, if available, to send a text message to a friend.
Passengers should not attempt to leave the cab without being cleared by a certified technician or the fire department, according to Otis, the elevator manufacturer, which has compiled five steps to take when an elevator breaks down.
Elevators are required to have an emergency button, an intercom or a phone, which is usually located in a panel beneath the control buttons. Passengers shouldn’t try to force the doors open and remember that the elevator has air circulation openings, so there will be no limit on available air inside the cab.
National elevator codes require that external doors are equipped with an “emergency unlocking device,” which can be operated with a special key. The key will open the doors so that passengers can leave.
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by Sue Dremann / Palo Alto Weekly
Uploaded: Wed, Dec 14, 2022, 9:20 am

What goes up doesn’t always come down. That’s the issue with some elevators in Palo Alto and Stanford, data from the Palo Alto Fire Department shows.

The breakdowns, which are often cataloged on the fire dispatch app PulsePoint, show that “elevator rescues” aren’t an uncommon occurrence — nor are they limited to Palo Alto and Stanford. The alert notifications of these incidents, to which fire departments respond, come multiple times a week from all over San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Palo Alto fire’s calls for elevator rescue service this year have thus far surpassed all of 2021, according to the calls for service log. In 2021, there were 66 calls: 41 at Stanford and 25 in Palo Alto. This year, through Nov. 6, there were 74 total calls: 38 at Stanford and 36 in Palo Alto. The number has since climbed, with a total of 80 or more calls for service related to elevator rescues when considering more recent PulsePoint notifications.

Where are the most broken-down elevators in Palo Alto? In the No. 1 spot is the Bryant Street parking garage, located at 445 Bryant St. The location experienced 14 elevator rescue calls between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 11, 2022, according to the fire dispatch data. In second and third places are two locations on the Stanford University campus: seven incidents were recorded at the Escondido Village high-rises, a graduate housing facility at 737 Campus Drive, and six at the Duan Family Hall undergraduate housing building at 757 Campus Drive.

The numbers can be a bit deceiving. Some buildings, such as Stanford Hospital at 500 Pasteur Drive, have multiple elevators listed in the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) elevator inspection database. Whether the multiple breakdowns occurred in one elevator or in different locations isn’t known. Yet, some individual elevators have multiple breakdowns.

The state’s inspection database lists 2,227 individual elevators in Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park and Mountain View, but 1,460 (66%), had expired permits as of Dec. 6.

California has a serious backlog in elevator inspections. Out of the total 790 elevators listed in the state’s inspection database for Palo Alto, 594 had expired permits and had not been reviewed by a state elevator inspector as of Dec. 6. At Stanford, 209 elevators out of 364 in the state’s database have expired permits.

The numbers are equally concerning in neighboring cities. Out of 382 Menlo Park elevators in the state’s database, 310 had not been recently inspected and had expired permits, with only 72 having active permits. In Mountain View, there were 688 elevators in the database, with 344 having expired permits.

The Bryant Street garage, arguably the poster child for elevator breakdowns, had two rescues in 2001 and 12 in 2022, the latter incidents occurring between March and July.

City spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said one of the two elevators in the garage had an intermittent problem that took some time for the elevator company to troubleshoot and repair.

“Vandalism and issues with unhoused persons may have also been a factor,” she said in an email.

State inspections are supposed to be annual. “If corrective actions are required, the elevator maintenance company is required to complete the repairs before the state issues the new permit,” she said.

The city’s parking garage elevators and the current state permit expiration date for each are as follows:

“Our experience is that the state is a little behind in their annual inspections with our elevators but not to the extent that other companies have experienced,” Horrigan-Taylor said.

The backlog is also more than 2 years old. The state’s inspection database showed a few elevators haven’t been inspected since 2018. Some were inspected in later years but still show expired permits as far back as 2017. The state Department of Industrial Relations didn’t explain why these permits weren’t renewed after inspections.

Most of the elevators with expired permits had their last inspections in 2021 and 2022. According to the elevator database, 686 of the permits for Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Stanford expired in 2021 and have not yet been inspected; in 2022 through Dec. 6, an additional 735 elevators haven’t been inspected and have expired permits.

There are nine elevator inspectors in the DIR’s San Jose office, which covers Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and other cities on the Peninsula. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which is in charge of the hiring and inspection process, is working to hire three more, the department said in an email..

“Cal/OSHA acknowledges the need for elevator inspectors to ensure this critical work can be accomplished in a timely manner. Hiring is a top priority for the Division, and Cal/OSHA is currently working to fill newly established positions in addition to vacant positions in the Elevator Unit. Elevator Safety Inspectors require a very specialized skill set, and Cal/OSHA has been expanding its recruitment strategies to find interested and qualified candidates,” the DIR said.

So how dangerous are expired elevators?

The chances of an elevator cable breaking or the elevator crashing to the ground are slim, according to Otis, the world’s largest elevator manufacturer. Most elevators can stop when there are power outages, if there’s a mechanical or electrical malfunction in the system or when passengers misuse equipment.

Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally said although an injury can occur, he hasn’t seen an injury as a result of a malfunctioning elevator in his 18 years with the department. The most frequent causes of elevator breakdowns are issues such as a button that won’t open a door or an elevator stuck between floors, he said.

The Fire Department doesn’t crack open the elevator anymore to rescue people in most cases because it can cause too much damage that might lead to replacing the entire elevator, he said. In most instances, the department is there to monitor if someone is stuck inside. An elevator company is called to fix the problem so that people can escape.

Often, it’s a matter of turning the power off and on to reset the elevator. Sometimes, by the time the Fire Department responds the people are already out, McNally said.

After the passengers are freed, the elevator is tagged until the repairs are made.

Cal/OSHA doesn’t track the dates elevators get serviced.

“That is a matter that rests between the elevator owner/operator and the elevator maintenance company it hired. Elevators are required to be properly serviced and maintained by the building owner and their certified elevator maintenance company, even when operating with expired permits. All building owners should have a maintenance contract with a California-certified elevator company,” the DIR said.

Palo Alto has a contract with an elevator contractor that performs monthly, quarterly and annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs. Horrigan-Taylor said.

Valid permit or not, building owners would do well to have their elevators routinely inspected and repaired by a maintenance company. Under California law, public elevators are considered “common carriers,” much like a taxi, bus or other transportation conveyance serving the general public.

Civil Code section 2100 requires that a common carrier “must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill.”

Further putting the onus on property owners, another civil code, section 2101, further states that a common carrier is “bound to provide vehicles safe and fit for the purposes to which they are put, and is not excused for default in this respect by any degree of care.”

A California Supreme Court decision also found that “common carriers bind themselves to carry safely those whom they take into their vehicles, and owe both a duty of utmost care and the vigilance of a very cautious person towards their passengers. Such carriers are responsible for any, even the slightest, negligence and are required to do all that human care, vigilance, and foresight reasonably can do under all the circumstances.”

Juries are required to apply a similar standard when deliberating in a civil trial.

If an elevator stops, the first thing to do is to remain calm, according to experts. If the lights are out, passengers should look for a source of light. Most people have cellphones that can illuminate a space and many phones have a built-in flashlight app. If there’s cellphone coverage, passengers can call police dispatch or use Wi-Fi, if available, to send a text message to a friend.

Passengers should not attempt to leave the cab without being cleared by a certified technician or the fire department, according to Otis, the elevator manufacturer, which has compiled five steps to take when an elevator breaks down.

Elevators are required to have an emergency button, an intercom or a phone, which is usually located in a panel beneath the control buttons. Passengers shouldn’t try to force the doors open and remember that the elevator has air circulation openings, so there will be no limit on available air inside the cab.

National elevator codes require that external doors are equipped with an “emergency unlocking device,” which can be operated with a special key. The key will open the doors so that passengers can leave.

What goes up doesn’t always come down. That’s the issue with some elevators in Palo Alto and Stanford, data from the Palo Alto Fire Department shows.
The breakdowns, which are often cataloged on the fire dispatch app PulsePoint, show that “elevator rescues” aren’t an uncommon occurrence — nor are they limited to Palo Alto and Stanford. The alert notifications of these incidents, to which fire departments respond, come multiple times a week from all over San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Palo Alto fire’s calls for elevator rescue service this year have thus far surpassed all of 2021, according to the calls for service log. In 2021, there were 66 calls: 41 at Stanford and 25 in Palo Alto. This year, through Nov. 6, there were 74 total calls: 38 at Stanford and 36 in Palo Alto. The number has since climbed, with a total of 80 or more calls for service related to elevator rescues when considering more recent PulsePoint notifications.
Where are the most broken-down elevators in Palo Alto? In the No. 1 spot is the Bryant Street parking garage, located at 445 Bryant St. The location experienced 14 elevator rescue calls between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 11, 2022, according to the fire dispatch data. In second and third places are two locations on the Stanford University campus: seven incidents were recorded at the Escondido Village high-rises, a graduate housing facility at 737 Campus Drive, and six at the Duan Family Hall undergraduate housing building at 757 Campus Drive.
The numbers can be a bit deceiving. Some buildings, such as Stanford Hospital at 500 Pasteur Drive, have multiple elevators listed in the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) elevator inspection database. Whether the multiple breakdowns occurred in one elevator or in different locations isn’t known. Yet, some individual elevators have multiple breakdowns.
The state’s inspection database lists 2,227 individual elevators in Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park and Mountain View, but 1,460 (66%), had expired permits as of Dec. 6.
California has a serious backlog in elevator inspections. Out of the total 790 elevators listed in the state’s inspection database for Palo Alto, 594 had expired permits and had not been reviewed by a state elevator inspector as of Dec. 6. At Stanford, 209 elevators out of 364 in the state’s database have expired permits.
The numbers are equally concerning in neighboring cities. Out of 382 Menlo Park elevators in the state’s database, 310 had not been recently inspected and had expired permits, with only 72 having active permits. In Mountain View, there were 688 elevators in the database, with 344 having expired permits.
The Bryant Street garage, arguably the poster child for elevator breakdowns, had two rescues in 2001 and 12 in 2022, the latter incidents occurring between March and July.
City spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said one of the two elevators in the garage had an intermittent problem that took some time for the elevator company to troubleshoot and repair.
“Vandalism and issues with unhoused persons may have also been a factor,” she said in an email.
State inspections are supposed to be annual. “If corrective actions are required, the elevator maintenance company is required to complete the repairs before the state issues the new permit,” she said.
The city’s parking garage elevators and the current state permit expiration date for each are as follows:
“Our experience is that the state is a little behind in their annual inspections with our elevators but not to the extent that other companies have experienced,” Horrigan-Taylor said.
The backlog is also more than 2 years old. The state’s inspection database showed a few elevators haven’t been inspected since 2018. Some were inspected in later years but still show expired permits as far back as 2017. The state Department of Industrial Relations didn’t explain why these permits weren’t renewed after inspections.
Most of the elevators with expired permits had their last inspections in 2021 and 2022. According to the elevator database, 686 of the permits for Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Stanford expired in 2021 and have not yet been inspected; in 2022 through Dec. 6, an additional 735 elevators haven’t been inspected and have expired permits.
There are nine elevator inspectors in the DIR’s San Jose office, which covers Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and other cities on the Peninsula. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which is in charge of the hiring and inspection process, is working to hire three more, the department said in an email..
“Cal/OSHA acknowledges the need for elevator inspectors to ensure this critical work can be accomplished in a timely manner. Hiring is a top priority for the Division, and Cal/OSHA is currently working to fill newly established positions in addition to vacant positions in the Elevator Unit. Elevator Safety Inspectors require a very specialized skill set, and Cal/OSHA has been expanding its recruitment strategies to find interested and qualified candidates,” the DIR said.
So how dangerous are expired elevators?
The chances of an elevator cable breaking or the elevator crashing to the ground are slim, according to Otis, the world’s largest elevator manufacturer. Most elevators can stop when there are power outages, if there’s a mechanical or electrical malfunction in the system or when passengers misuse equipment.
Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally said although an injury can occur, he hasn’t seen an injury as a result of a malfunctioning elevator in his 18 years with the department. The most frequent causes of elevator breakdowns are issues such as a button that won’t open a door or an elevator stuck between floors, he said.
The Fire Department doesn’t crack open the elevator anymore to rescue people in most cases because it can cause too much damage that might lead to replacing the entire elevator, he said. In most instances, the department is there to monitor if someone is stuck inside. An elevator company is called to fix the problem so that people can escape.
Often, it’s a matter of turning the power off and on to reset the elevator. Sometimes, by the time the Fire Department responds the people are already out, McNally said.
After the passengers are freed, the elevator is tagged until the repairs are made.
Cal/OSHA doesn’t track the dates elevators get serviced.
“That is a matter that rests between the elevator owner/operator and the elevator maintenance company it hired. Elevators are required to be properly serviced and maintained by the building owner and their certified elevator maintenance company, even when operating with expired permits. All building owners should have a maintenance contract with a California-certified elevator company,” the DIR said.
Palo Alto has a contract with an elevator contractor that performs monthly, quarterly and annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs. Horrigan-Taylor said.
Valid permit or not, building owners would do well to have their elevators routinely inspected and repaired by a maintenance company. Under California law, public elevators are considered “common carriers,” much like a taxi, bus or other transportation conveyance serving the general public.
Civil Code section 2100 requires that a common carrier “must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill.”
Further putting the onus on property owners, another civil code, section 2101, further states that a common carrier is “bound to provide vehicles safe and fit for the purposes to which they are put, and is not excused for default in this respect by any degree of care.”
A California Supreme Court decision also found that “common carriers bind themselves to carry safely those whom they take into their vehicles, and owe both a duty of utmost care and the vigilance of a very cautious person towards their passengers. Such carriers are responsible for any, even the slightest, negligence and are required to do all that human care, vigilance, and foresight reasonably can do under all the circumstances.”
Juries are required to apply a similar standard when deliberating in a civil trial.
If an elevator stops, the first thing to do is to remain calm, according to experts. If the lights are out, passengers should look for a source of light. Most people have cellphones that can illuminate a space and many phones have a built-in flashlight app. If there’s cellphone coverage, passengers can call police dispatch or use Wi-Fi, if available, to send a text message to a friend.
Passengers should not attempt to leave the cab without being cleared by a certified technician or the fire department, according to Otis, the elevator manufacturer, which has compiled five steps to take when an elevator breaks down.
Elevators are required to have an emergency button, an intercom or a phone, which is usually located in a panel beneath the control buttons. Passengers shouldn’t try to force the doors open and remember that the elevator has air circulation openings, so there will be no limit on available air inside the cab.
National elevator codes require that external doors are equipped with an “emergency unlocking device,” which can be operated with a special key. The key will open the doors so that passengers can leave.
Our tax dollars at work… the numbers of expired permits for ALL cities mentioned are egregious IMO. Take the stairs you will live longer (of course everyone is not able to do that). And if you live in a private home with an elevator, go one at a time. You don’t want to end up like this poor couple. Web Link
How long on average do people wait to be freed from the stuck elevator?
There has been a failure to implement longstanding elevator maintenance and certification standards that protect the safety and efficiency of operation for people who ride in elevators. Why? In each of these cases, who is the specific person responsible for making sure this gets done? Why is that person not getting his/her/their job done? This is an executive function of government. Specifically, who is responsible for this essential tasks of hiring , training, and following up on the service people who do this work? WHY is it not getting done? I hope this will be the subject of your follow-up article.

It is time to get back to work, people. Important systems are breaking down all over the place. Society’s systems work when we make them work.
Sort of like all the people waiting for the solar permits, their building permits and their utility tax “overcharges.”

But hey, we’re spending money on dinosaurs and are delusional enough to think spending $144,000,000 will make the city capable of managing a fiber network that competes with AT&T, Comcast, etc et.
@Online Name,

“delusional enough to think spending $144,000,000 will make the city capable of managing a fiber network that competes with AT&T, Comcast, etc et.”

The City wants to BORROW to spend $144,000,000 for the same management that got us the Junior Museum “upgrade” – no longer free, and requires marketing money to survive – to play around with something nobody is asking for. Why not just get City Hall bought out by AT&T, it would be safer.
@resident3, and they also want to OUTSOURCE the work according to one City Council member when presented with objections about PA’s abilities! Unfortunately he never responded when asked why PA should bother. In fact, he accused those objecting for trying to kill the project because they/we worked for “the competition.”

$144,000,000 plus interest is a lot to spend for BRANDING to soothe someone’s ego and/or to ingratiate themselves with the consultants, outsourcing companies, etc.

I got in an elevator a few weeks ago and noticed the certificate had the expiration date crossed out, with “PERMIT APPLIED FOR” on a date about a year ago. There was also a notice above it saying there is a backlog of inspections. I had options, like taking the stairs. That’s not an option for some folks. Thus, as usual, leaving the most vulnerable population at risk should there be a power failure or god forbid, a broken cable.

Re the dinosaurs and fiber optic network the city wants to build to sell to residents, some cities build a network and give it for free everywhere inside the city limits. Imagine that. Delivering a service to locals instead of tax, tax, tax, tax…. We are in the Stone Age here, for sure.
Every time I read of a power outage in Palo Alto I wonder how many people are stuck in an elevator?

@Online Name,

$144,000,000 plus interest is a lot to spend for BRANDING to soothe someone’s ego and/or to ingratiate themselves with the consultants, outsourcing companies, etc.

Burdening the City with debt to have bureaucrats compete in anything is a guaranteed loss. But debt is cruel, it will multiply incompetence in ways that the JMZ dinosaurs will look golden. Can’t decide, compete with AT&T or stick to winning on the number of expired elevators. We are beating Mt View, Menlo Park and Stanford.
“Every time I read of a power outage in Palo Alto I wonder how many people are stuck in an elevator?”

Since threatening to cut 9/11 Dispatch services was more of a priority than the dinosaurs, the fiber network, etc etc., I guess we’ll all keep wondering — as well as the people wondering when their power will be restored because upgrading the power grid is deemed less important.
Bystander it did happen once. In a movie.
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