macmeech wrote:

What do you think of using railroad ties as stairs. Are they
appropriate for this type of setting? What are the safety hazards ?

You have a garden of edibles on a slope so large it needs stairs, and
it's at a commercial property? Okay, I've seen that. Rosemary bushes
around large apartment buildings in southern California, right?

The creosote is not good for the soil but you're in a semi-arid region
so there won't be all that much leaching. Railroad ties work okay in
landscaping.

Because of the chemical treatment I would rather use gardening timbers.
They make for smaller steps up the slope but they aren't harmful to the
soil unless you get the green arsenic treated ones.

You do NOT want them for use by the regular tenants. Just for the
gardening staff. Too much of a trip hazard.