District 19 Sidewalk Repairs Begin Summer 2024

Districts 19 and 11 are scheduled for sidewalk repairs in 2024.   This is part of a ten-year cycle with an average of two districts scheduled for repairs each year.  Sidewalks marked with arrows or x’s are designated for replacement, while sidewalks marked with a pink line or c’s are designated for saw cuttinga ato remove tripping hazards. The sidewalk program was created to identify and repair defects in sidewalks.  Such defects can be cracks, broken sections, offsets creating trip hazards and water ponding that leads to icing issues in Winter.  Work is expected to progress through the district over the course of the summer. 2/7/24 project update: District 19 sidewalk repair and replacement (Contract #8754) is pending approval by the Board of Public Works and the Common Council. If approved, advertising for bids will begin on or about March 7.

One substantial change to the sidewalk repair and replacement program was implemented in 2023 by a change in city ordinance (File 74024) that stipulated these projects are no longer assessed to adjacent property owners. Under the previous policy 50% of sidewalk repair costs were assessed. This means the sidewalk repairs in our District this summer are now 100% funded out of the City budget, and no separate bills will be sent to property owners.

When city staff began inspecting the condition of sidewalks in districts 11 and 19 late last Fall, they discovered that there was more repair work needed than anticipated.  Due to this increased amount of work, the Engineering Department is proposing a budget transfer from two other city projects with surpluses to the Sidewalk Program to cover the overages. This transfer of funds will require no new borrowing.  District 11 Alder Tishler and I are co-sponsoring a budget transfer resolution which will be introduced at the next Common Council meeting ( File 81979 ) and discussed at Finance Committee on 2/26/24. The resolution will then come back to the Common Council for a vote on 3/5/24.