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Los Angeles doesn't have much of a reputation for being a walking city, but it's on its way there. And a new program being launched by the city will help cement that status in the coming years.On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved Safe Sidewalks LA, which finally sets in motion a $1.4 billion, 30-year plan to repair the city's 11,000 miles of buckling sidewalks.
While state law says property owners are financially responsible for sidewalk repairs, the City of Los Angeles took on the responsibility for tree-damaged sidewalks back in the 1970s, but problems piled up and the city ran out of money to make the repairs—leaving us with a sidewalks problem 40 years in the making.
The city is already in the process of repairing sidewalks next to city property and will be expanding under the program. Homeowners and businesses can get up to a $2,000 or a $4,000 rebate, respectively, for repairing sidewalks before the city does. "I encourage all Angelenos to take advantage of this historic program," said Mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement. "Together we are going to improve access and safety, boost property values and give people across Los Angeles reason to feel good about our public walkways."
On Thursday, the city will launch the program's website at sidewalks.lacity.org, where residents can report broken sidewalks or find more information about the rebate program. Priority will given to requests from people with disabilities.
The plan has been dubbed a "fix and release," where the city will take care of the costs of one-time repairs before transferring the responsibility back to property owners. Under state law, adjacent property owners are responsible for the repair of sidewalks. Safe Sidewalks LA repeals the city law that previously made the city responsible for repairs.
"For decades, the City of Los Angeles lacked a coherent plan to deal with crumbling sidewalks in our neighborhoods," said Councilmember Paul Krekorian. "That's all changing with Safe Sidewalks LA, an equitable and sustainable plan to repair every sidewalk in the city that needs it."
The city was forced into action last year to fix the broken sidewalks after being sued by a coalition of disabled residents and advocates and settling.
