Denver Takes on Sidewalk Repair

The city of Denver is taking a new approach to funding sidewalk repairs, reports David Zipper in Bloomberg CityLab.

Sidewalks are the unsung but essential infrastructure of millions of mundane daily journeys. But they tend to be chronically neglected — especially in neighborhoods whose residents rely on them most.

As Zipper explains, “Last month, the Mile High City began to fully fund and maintain its entire sidewalk network, taking over from private citizens. Most property owners will pay a $150 fee for sidewalks per year; a small minority with more than 230 linear square feet facing the street will pay $3.50 per additional square foot.”

The city is one of the first, and the largest in the country, to take on sidewalk repairs (most cities leave it up to private property owners, resulting in a patchwork of conditions). “According to a recent study, 23 of the largest 30 US cities make property owners responsible for sidewalk construction and maintenance, even as public agencies themselves pave streets and highways.”

After years of advocacy from residents, the city enacted legislation that wraps sidewalk repair fees into Denverites’ biannual stormwater fees. “The $150-and-up fee is projected to bring in $40 million per year, which will finance around $850 million in debt. To give a sense of scale, $850 million is roughly double the annual budget of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.” The approach could be a useful model for other cities, particularly as future federal funding for sidewalks and safe streets projects appears uncertain.