Ms. Arnett,

I am responding on behalf of the Street & Bridge Division (S&B) to your questions regarding sidewalk repair practices and procedures. I have also directed your questions regarding funding issues to financial staff. You will receive the financial information as soon as it is available. I have also attached an outline of the revised process S&B uses when receiving and tracking citizen service requests for sidewalk repairs. This is a different process than the severity scale we initially used and I described during repairs to the sidewalk at your address. This revised process has turned out to be much simpler to understand and more effective.

The following are your list of questions and the responses to each.

1.      If you make a repair to one of our sidewalk sections, can we be assured that it will be fixed with CONCRETE and not that asphalt stuff that makes a mess and looks bad?

Unfortunately, temporary asphalt repairs must be placed when the City is made aware of a trip hazard situation that can be addressed quickly to remove the immediate hazard. This is a legal responsibility by which we must abide. However, that location is added to the Master Repair List when any temporary asphalt repair is completed. This initiates the process of scheduling a permanent repair by the S&B Concrete Repair Section.

Information on the Master Repair List comes entirely from citizen calls that are documented in the City's 3-1-1 system. If a sidewalk repair is not called in to 3-1-1 it may not be included on the Master Repair List and may be missed when the next cycle of repairs are scheduled.

2.      When I had my sidewalks fixed by the city two years ago (at 3209, 3207, 3205 and 3203 Mossrock) these were fixed with a new type of concrete that has some resin fibers in it ( I believe) making it more durable and less prone to cracking.  They also replaced the lawn when they were done with the sidewalks.  Can residents still expect this to be the case when the repairs get made (if ever)?

Yes, fiber reinforced concrete is the standard mixture used in sidewalk repairs made by the S&B Concrete Repair Section. The area surrounding the work completed will be re-graded and restored with grass.

3.      There are basically four types of sidewalk repair issues listed below.  Are all of these covered by the city?

Yes, the City is responsible for maintaining all existing sidewalks and curb & gutter infrastructure within the public right-of-way. S&B is the maintenance branch of the Public Works Department, though, and does not initiate construction of new facilities. New infrastructure is mostly built by developers and granted to the City for ownership and long-term maintenance within new right-of-way. However, the City does have an amount of capital funding to build limited number of new, high priority facilities.

A.          There is a water/wastewater cover/meter that is sinking into the ground and pulling the sidewalk down with it.  - that was my problem two years ago.

The S&B Concrete Repair Section can typically repair the sidewalk around these meter covers and raise the cover so it is flush with the sidewalk. If conditions are extreme, it may require coordination with the responsible utility department. This may cause delays due to that department's schedule and availability; however, this is something on which we commonly arrange and work together.

B.         Where the sewer line connects into the city line at the street, the ground has sunk (we have old sewer lines still over here) causing big dips or buckling.

Most of the sidewalk damage we encounter is a result of utility issues, tree roots, and swelling clay soils (ground shifting) in that relative order. When we repair these locations the buckled sidewalk panels are removed, the ground is leveled, and new sidewalk placed.

Note the following caveats may arise during some repair situations. These items must be considered in view of sidewalk repairs due to utilities, tree roots, or shifting soils. We may skip a specific location if:

·       No immediate tripping hazard exists, i.e. the panels are buckled, but not faulted with one panel edge raised higher than another causing a lip that can trip pedestrians.

·       There are so many repairs needed in a particular neighborhood that the funds budgeted for that entire zip code will be entirely depleted in one limited area. In this instance we will complete the budgeted repairs and continue work when we return for the next repair cycle. If the magnitude of the work required is too large for in-house forces, we will designate this area as a candidate for future capital funding requests in the next bond program. Future bond programs and propositions are, of course, subject to City Council recommendations and subsequent voter approval.

·       There are more requests for repairs than we can afford to complete within the funding allocation for a single repair cycle. In this instance we will defer to the older requests first and the most recent last. This may push the more recent requests into the next repair cycle.

·       The S&B Concrete Repair Section is pulled off of sidewalk repairs to focus on another high priority project that requires immediate concrete work. The typical repair cycle takes 10 to 12 months for the Concrete Repair Section to address locations in each zip code throughout the City. However, this time frame does not account for unforeseen priorities that may cause delays in long-term scheduled work.

Under the above circumstances where delays occur, the temporary asphalt repair will remain in place until we are able to complete permanent concrete repair.

C.         Large tree roots from existing large trees (which the residents treasure and do not want damaged.

Street and Bridge is held environmentally responsible and accountable by permit for all work around trees in the right of way. We work very closely with a certified arborist and environmental inspection staff that monitors our activities in the right of way. The arborist must approve any plan we develop to work around trees in the right of way. We make every effort to prevent and avoid damage to roots and limbs while making sidewalk repairs.

D.         General ground shifting causing one segment to be 2 or 3 inches higher than the adjacent segment.

Yes, we do repair these types of locations. The faulted sidewalk panels are removed; the ground is leveled; and new, level sidewalk panels are placed.

E.         Erosion close to Shoal Creek and the bridges that go over Shoal Creek.

Locations with erosion are carefully evaluated. We include the Bridge Management Engineer if erosion has occurred that presents an apparent bridge maintenance issue. However, if it is a sidewalk maintenance issue only, the sidewalk is repaired or replaced in such a way that it connects to and matches existing bridge sidewalks.