I Like Escalators

"I like escalators because an escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You'll never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

While I was at lunch this week, I saw this sign, and I thought it was one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in a while. There was no repair being done to the escalator. Were they concerned that it might suddenly turning on, while people were walking down it, or were they just worried that people have forgotten how to use stairs?