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Tackling community issues. Celebrating local voices.
If you’ve walked on Eugene’s sidewalks, chances are you’ve stumbled or even fallen on cracked, uneven pavement. Maybe you cursed the hazard. Maybe you wondered, “Why doesn’t somebody fix this?” The answer might surprise you: In Eugene, fixing the sidewalk isn’t the city’s job. It’s yours.
While the city of Eugene maintains streets, bike lanes, off-street paths and has even added accessible curb ramps at intersections, sidewalks are left out of the equation. That’s because under city code, adjacent property owners – not the city – are responsible for maintaining sidewalks. The trouble is, most property owners don’t even know that. And so, while our roads improve, our sidewalks continue to deteriorate.
The current sidewalk repair system is reactive, inefficient and inequitable. It starts when someone files a complaint. City staff inspect the sidewalk and, if it’s found to be hazardous, notify the property owner to fix it. If owners can afford to hire a contractor, which may cost $1,000 to $2,000 per sidewalk panel, they might make the repair. If they can’t, the city checks if they qualify for limited financial assistance…