Well, as a drop down path there's risk inherent in taking it if you don't know what's waiting for you. Higher risk, higher potential reward (bypassing spawn with an easy route).
Part of the problem I'm trying to counter is that almost nobody uses that path, and I'm not sure people are even really aware of it.
I think those stairs look good. They also add a new scout route to bypass heavier attackers in the middle (the scout doubles back to get up top again).