Property: Complaints About Stair Exercisers

The article on steps being used by exercisers (Westside, July 9) did not make it clear whether the steps written about were public property. If the steps are on public property, then I turn a deaf ear to residents’ complaints.

We bought our home 41 years ago in the beautiful area that was destined to be the area near the Montana off-ramp of the San Diego Freeway. The noise makes the yard almost unusable, our upstairs bedroom almost unsleepable, and both the Wilshire and Montana off- and on-ramps make the area filthy (litter is tossed from cars). But freeways are public property, as are the streets nearby.

Compared to the noise and dirt that we must endure seven days and nights a week, appreciate the steps as you and the residents of Beverly Hills use the 405!

BERNADINE HARRIS, Los Angeles

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Your cover article on the “stairs” (Westside, July 9) was exactly what the neighborhood needed. With this kind of attention in the L.A. Times, more and more people will come to use the stairs. Just the opposite of what the neighbors want!

As one who uses the stairs two to three times per week, I’ve never seen any misconduct from the stair users. Most are there to work out and leave. I’ve never seen anyone throw empty bottles around.

The median strip and the stairs are public property. When homeowners bought their homes, they didn’t claim exclusive rights to the stairs and the grass in the middle, did they?

As for someone defecating in the bushes, a good friend of mine who introduced me to the stairs was an eyewitness to a man defecating in the bushes, but he was no exerciser, he was what’s commonly known as a “homeless person.” As for people using water hoses, if that’s the worst thing that can happen to a homeowner and his home, then that person is very lucky.

The doctor/homeowner mentioned in the article could have a lot worse hanging out on his doorstep, like gangs and drug dealers.

The stairs are great for the views, the lovely homes and the free exercise. Why spoil it? Most people respect the homeowners in the area, and hopefully the police will never have to write a citation.

GLORIA J. GEARY, West Los Angeles