City of Atlanta

Sidewalk Maintenance

Recommended

Policy and Funding Reforms

Sally Flocks, Ph.D.

Subcommittee Recommendations

Sidewalk Task Force

April 16, 2013

Enforcement of

current sidewalk ordinance

faces numerous barriers

Lack of community support

The annual budget for

sidewalk repairs

enables Public Works

to address less than

1 percent

of the estimated

$152 million backlog of

broken sidewalks and curbs.

Limited funding & staff

Atlanta has prioritized

sidewalk maintenance

so low for decades,

it will be difficult,

if not impossible,

to restart a program

funded by assessments

from abutting

property owners.

Lack of community support for

current sidewalk policy

than to abutting property owners.

Sidewalks are public assets that provide

more benefits to the community at large

than to abutting property owners.

Selective enforcement is inherently unjust..

“What is so frustrating

is that there are so

many blocks around

Delaware where the

city repaired the

sidewalk at no cost to

the residents. It is

selective billing and

that is simply unfair.”

Edjuardo Julio

Atlanta

has a

22.4 %

poverty

rate.

High poverty rate

A program relying

on property liens as

a major funding

source is not

sustainable.

23 %

Maintenance costs should be shared by all taxpayers,

not just those whose property abuts sidewalks.

Sidewalks and curbs are often damaged by

illegal parking, car wrecks, and other problems

beyond the control of property owners.

Recommended

Reforms

Create a comprehensive

inventory of sidewalk conditions

Use a points-based system to prioritize projects

Score points

for both

pedestrian

generators

and

deficiencies

Reduce maintenance costs

Use a two-pronged

approach of

repair and replacement.

Identify Funding:

The City must identify

a funding source that

allows the City to

re-assume responsibility

for construction and

maintenance of the

sidewalk system.

A bond referendum could help, but

competition for funds will be fierce.

A parking surcharge could pay

for infrastructure repairs

The City of Atlanta has

estimated that if a $1

daily surcharge was

levied on transactions

for 200,000 parking

spaces inside of the

city, it would generate

$75.9 million in its first

year of implementation

.

Raise my taxes, please!

Raising the millage rate by 1 mill would increase

annual revenue by an estimated $15 million.

A home valued at $200,000 would pay

$50 more in city taxes based on a 1 mill change.

Dedicate the revenue to the Sidewalk Trust Fund.

The Americans with Disabilities Act

trumps local ordinances.

Photo by Dan Burden

pedbikeimages.org

Public sidewalks are a

program of the City that

must be accessible to

all users.

Photo by Dan Burden

pedbikeimages.org

Allocate tax dollars only to the cost of

sidewalks built with plain concrete.

Make plain concrete

the default choice.

Add

Assign costs for bricks

or stamped hexagons

to abutting property owners

or associations

• Replacing trees with

ones that match

circumference of

existing trees

• Using historic sidewalk

materials on top of a

concrete base in

historic districts

Eliminate unfunded mandates –

or allocate sufficient funding so they do not

remain barriers to repairing sidewalks

This presentation expresses recommendations made to the Atlanta City Council’s Sidewalk Task Force by

participants in the Best Practices / Sidewalk Policy and Financing Reform Subcommittee. It is not intended to

represent the opinions of the Atlanta City Council or others who lead or work for the City of Atlanta.

1912: Atlanta Constitution calls on City to

“revolutionize the poor system of street inspection.”

1998: Atlanta-Fulton Pedestrian Safety Task

Force calls on City to enforce the sidewalk

ordinance – or replace it.

Next step: Courageous Leadership

2004: The Mayor’s Walkable Atlanta Task Force

calls for a city-wide Pedestrian Master Plan and a

proactive system for monitoring and repairing

hazardous sidewalks .

2010: The Connect Atlanta Plan calls on City to

identify funding source enabling it to re-assume

responsibility for sidewalk maintenance.