 What never moves and has no feet, but frequently wears shoes, sandals and boots? Sidewalks are one of the most utilized city assets, and yet, simultaneously they remain one of the most neglected. In our 30 years of surveying infrastructure assets in cities across North America, we can say with confidence that the majority of municipalities are struggling with sidewalk compliance and repair backlogs that remain largely underfunded.
Sidewalks can increase public safety, encourage healthy outdoor activity, and even promote economic well-being in low-income communities. On the other hand, when improperly managed, sidewalks can be a tremendous financial drain on a city’s budget. Pedestrians seldom hesitate to file personal injury lawsuits against cities that fail to maintain their sidewalks. There is also the issue of ADA compliance looming over every sidewalk construction project. In addition to managing a backlog of repair projects, settling lawsuits can undermine a municipality’s budget. With this in mind, here are 5 useful tips that will ensure you maintain a happy and healthy pedestrian community:
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 Some distressed roads need to be fixed right away, some don’t. If you are in charge of a municipality’s pavement management decisions then you have probably been faced with the difficult decision about how to optimize the spending of a limited budget. To navigate those situations with expertise you must be aware of the deferment cost.
In pavement management, road segments are assigned a score depending on their overall quality; this is known as a PCI, or Pavement Condition Index. Depending on the PCI score of a street, pavement management software will recommend a suggested rehab treatment and factor in the average cost. There are a variety of rehab categories to be aware of, all varying in cost depending on the functional classification of the roads in question. |