Stairs are harder to walk, and higher risk of injury than slopes (imagine falling from stairs versus falling from slope).
So why aren’t slopes used more commonly in buildings?
Even stairs-shaped escalators are more common than slope-shaped escalators.
**Edit:** By “slopes”, I mean “ramps”. Pardon my English.
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One reason is walking down.
Walking down stairs is way more comfortable than a ramp. A ramp forces you to land each step on the heel instead of the toe. Toe is out damper for our back. Steps that land on heel are heavier on knees and back and can cause pain, tiredness, and damage long term.
Safety: while falling down a stair is scary, it actually tend to happen with one foot slipping and the other jamming on a step, which makes you painfully fall on your legs and bum, not nice, but pain apart, it’s unlikely to kill you. Slipping down a ramp on the other hand is likely to make both foot slide downhill and you can land on your head, killing you. Another very likely event is that you will try to stop the fall with your hand resulting in a broken wrist.
-source: enough walking on snowy, icy, and muddy mountain trails, and mountain villages footpaths.
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