The city tries hard to get developers to add sidewalks in front of houses. Corner houses may have two sidewalks. This now affects how high the water bill will be, as impervious surfaces are charged to the homeowner via the water bill.
The city charges the developers for failing to place a sidewalk on the property.
I live in a cul-de-sac, and two houses used to have sidewalks. They were both in the middle of the block. I wrote two. However, one owner removed the sidewalk, and the other covered it with dirt.
The neighborhood in which I reside consists of streets with sidewalks to nowhere.
Sidewalks are a problem. The city won’t maintain them; too often, they become un-walkable with time, as evidenced by the image to the left. Who is responsible for repairing that? The city ordinance states that the owner is responsible.
Sec. 40-84. – Duties of abutting property owners; failure of property owners to have work done.
It shall be the duty of every owner of real estate in the city, abutting on any public street in the city, in front of which real estate or along which street the city council may order the construction, reconstruction or repair, or bringing to grade of sidewalks, driveways, curbs or gutters, or any of them, to cause the same to be constructed, reconstructed or repaired or bring the same to grade, as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of such order, the specifications set out in this article and on the line and grade as established by the city engineer for the particular block, street or community in which the real estate may be situated. Such property owners shall cause to be constructed such improvements in front of their respective property after the giving of notice as prescribed in this article, within the time fixed by the city council. After the expiration of the time indicated in the notice to construct, reconstruct, repair or regrade, if the abutting owner shall not have built such improvements as ordered and indicated in the notice, then the city shall have the right to construct the same in accordance with the order for the same, and the standard specifications hereinafter set out, under the supervision of the city engineer, and may advertise for bids or may itself construct such improvements, at the expense of the abutting property owner, and may recover a personal judgment in any court having jurisdiction of the amount for the cost and expense in constructing, reconstructing, repairing or regrading such sidewalks, driveways, curbs and gutters, with ten percent additional for attorneys’ fees, and may, by ordinance, fix a lien on the property improved.
The image (Click on the image for the source of information below) on the left is from an article from four years ago in Houston.
“In my time at City Hall, I have noticed we spend a lot of time focused on bike lanes, trails, roads, [and] transit, but we don’t spend a lot of time focused on sidewalks as a connecting network,” Alcorn said.
A number of initiatives are in the works, including a resilient sidewalk study that will create a new map of sidewalk conditions and develop an implementation strategy by 2023 to repair sidewalks citywide.
However, city staff and advocates said making headway on sidewalks could require the city to revisit how it thinks about funding. For the most part, city policy places the burden of sidewalk maintenance on individual property owners. As a result, management districts and tax increment reinvestment zones also play a big role in the installation of new sidewalks, particularly in the Heights, River Oaks and Montrose areas. These entities raise funds by charging fees or levying taxes within their boundaries.
“All of these great visions … I think will be very hard to accomplish if you continue to fund the sidewalks and their upkeep and repair solely on the backs of property owners,” he said. “Just because you’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean you always have to do it that way.”
Current conditions
Houston maintains about 4,000-5,000 miles of sidewalks across the city, Public Works Director Carol Haddock said. However, she said those sidewalks are not necessarily continuous or accessible.
The city seems always to seek new solutions to old problems, but they tend to remain old problems. During the few years I worked for a council member, sidewalks were a problem; some neighborhoods wanted them, and others wanted the city to repair the sidewalks. Thirty years later, they are still trying to solve the problem.
It all comes down to money. Where will we get the money to fix those pesky problems?
I don’t see Mayor Whitmire finding money for sidewalks or working hard to remove a source of revenue, even if it is a small amount.