Public Stairways, Walkways and Retaining Walls in San Diego

• Stairs, walkways and walls in the street right-of-way. The City's Transportation Department says it is "responsible for the operation and maintenance of nearly all infrastructure in the public right of way," including streets and sidewalks. City notices show its Street Division (then part of the former Transportation & Storm Water Department) making emergency repairs to a coastal pedestrian walkway at the end of Narragansett Avenue in 2020 and to the seawall and slope beside a public stairway at the end of Bermuda Avenue in 2021, both in Ocean Beach.
• Stairs and paths in City parks. These belong to the Parks and Recreation Department. For example, the department is the applicant for the repair and restoration of the Whale View Point Stairs in La Jolla, which a June 2026 City report describes as a public coastal access built in the 1920s and located partly in the public right-of-way. Canyon and open space trails are covered in our parks guide.
• Larger rebuilds. Major repairs can become capital projects. In 2022 the City's Engineering & Capital Projects Department issued the environmental notice for design and geotechnical work on the Narragansett Avenue access stairs.
• Private walls and slopes. A retaining wall, slope or stair on private property, including one next to the sidewalk, is the owner's responsibility. See A neighbor's wall or slope. The City pages we checked do not publish a list showing which department owns each individual stairway.

• No stairway category. As of November 2, 2026, the category list on the Get It Done form has no type for public stairs, retaining walls, slopes or landslides. For broken steps, a loose railing or a damaged walkway along a City street, use Other. The City's guide to Get It Done reports says Other reports "are not automatically processed and may require more time to review." If the damage is a real hazard, also call 619-527-7500.
• Not a guardrail report. The City defines the Damaged Guardrail type as "a metal railing that can be placed at the edge of a road," so it fits a road guardrail above a slope, not a stair handrail.
• Inside a park. The Park Equipment form says park issues may include "infrastructure concerns such as bridges, fences, and gates" and asks for a reference point. As of November 2, 2026, it estimates 45 days. You can also use the Ask Parks form.
• The sidewalk at the top or bottom. A raised or broken sidewalk goes under Sidewalk and a damaged curb under Curb; see our sidewalk repair guide. A stairway with no accessible route, or a missing curb ramp, is covered in our accessibility barriers guide.
• Lights out. A dark street light at a stairway entrance goes under Street Light; the Transportation Department lists about 60,000 street and park lights among the assets it manages. Our street lights guide explains repair times.
• Debris and dumping. Dumped items on a public stairway or path go under Illegal Dumping; overgrown plants are covered in our overgrown hedges guide.
• What to include. Put the pin at the top or bottom of the stairs and name the nearest street or address. Say which step or section is broken, whether a railing is loose or missing, and whether people are still using it. Add photos taken from a safe spot, including one far enough back to show the location.

Get It Done types that can come up with stairs, walls and slopes, as of November 2, 2026:

For how Get It Done works in general, see our guide to reporting a problem to the City of San Diego.

• Call for structural problems. The Transportation Department says: "To report a street or structure repair, call 619-527-7500." A wall that is leaning, cracked through, bulging or dropping material onto the sidewalk or street fits here.
• What the City has described. In its 2021 Bermuda Avenue notice, the City said a void about 17 by 19 by 11 feet behind a seawall had "compromised the structural integrity" of the street end and utilities above it. In the 2020 Ocean Beach walkway notice, staff installed barricades and orange fencing right away and judged that collapse "would be imminent" without repairs.
• Whose wall is it? It is not always obvious whether a wall beside a sidewalk is in the City right-of-way or on private land. If you are not sure, report it to the City and describe where it sits. The City pages we checked do not publish a map of City-owned retaining walls.
• Water and drainage. Mud or water running off a slope into the street goes under Street Flooded. As of November 2, 2026, that form estimates 3 days and says emergencies are addressed within 24 hours. Clogged drains and channels are covered in our storm drains guide.

• Call 911 first if anyone is hurt, trapped or in danger, or a slide has hit a home or a car. Get It Done is not for emergencies; the City says "For emergencies or immediate threats to public safety, call 9-1-1."
• Stay off and away. Do not walk onto a slide, under a leaning wall or along the top of a cracked slope, and keep others back. Do not move fencing or barricades the City has put up.
• Road blocked, nobody hurt. Call 619-527-7500. The City's storm preparedness page also says to "Report flooding to the City's emergency dispatch center at 619-527-7500." If power lines come down with the slope, stay away and call 911 and SDG&E; see our downed lines guide.
• Closures. The City's Road Closures page links a road conditions map and a road closures dashboard.

• Bluffs collapse. The lifeguards' safety page says: "Stay clear of coastal bluffs; they can collapse and cause injury." For Black's Beach, the City says the cliffs are unstable "and slides can occur without warning."
• Closed stairs. City records show coastal stairs closed when the bluff around them fails. The 2021 Bermuda Avenue notice describes chain link fencing and signs put up to keep people off a closed public access stairway, and says beachgoers peeled back the fencing to climb down the steep bluff. As of November 2, 2026, we did not find a City page listing which coastal stairs are currently closed. Respect posted closures.
• Reporting. For a damaged beach access stairway or railing, tell a lifeguard or call the Lifeguard Service at 619-221-8899 (business hours) or 619-221-8800 (after hours and weekends). The lifeguards say they respond to about fifty cliff rescues a year; if someone is stuck or has fallen, call 911. More on beach problems is in our beach and bay guide.

• Building & Land Use Enforcement. The City's Building & Land Use Enforcement division (Development Services) handles private property violations. You can submit a Request for Investigation online, by mail, or by calling 619-236-5500. It does not accept anonymous complaints, but says complainant information is kept confidential.
• Priorities. As of November 2, 2026, its Priority of Cases list puts "Dangerous/Unstable Structures" in Priority I (imminent health and safety hazards, inspected within a business day) and "Unpermitted grading" in Priority II (inspected within five business days). It also lists "Fence/wall violations" among the types it is not currently enforcing because of budget cuts, so describe a wall that is unsafe, not one that is only too tall or in the wrong place.
• Permits. Information Bulletin 220 says a retaining wall needs a building permit when, among other things, it is over three feet tall measured from the top of the footing, supports a slope steeper than 1.5 horizontal to 1 vertical, or supports surcharge loads such as driveways, walkways or fences. Municipal Code section 129.0602 lists when grading needs a permit, and section 142.0148 requires property owners grading next to a public right-of-way to protect it from damage.
• Talk first, if it is safe. The division suggests contacting the responsible person first, and lists the National Conflict Resolution Center at 619-238-2400 for help. Other private-property issues are covered in our code enforcement guide.

• El Niño season. On October 2, 2026, the Mayor proclaimed a local emergency ahead of El Niño, citing risks including flooding, beach erosion and mudslides. The City's Get It Done notice asks residents to report non-emergency storm problems through Get It Done.
• Check your own slope and walls. The City's El Niño page tells property owners to inspect sloped areas for erosion gullies, surface cracks and slumping, to look for cracking or rotation in retaining walls and garden walls, and to clear retaining wall drains and surface drains before the rainy season. If signs of movement appear, it suggests a California-licensed geologist or geotechnical engineer.