1. City of Atlanta
Sidewalk Maintenance
Recommended
Policy and Funding Reforms
Sally Flocks, Ph.D.
Subcommittee Recommendations
Sidewalk Task Force
April 16, 2013

2. Enforcement of
current sidewalk ordinance
faces numerous barriers

3. 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

4. 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

5. than to abutting property owners.Sidewalks are public assets that provide
more benefits to the community at large
than to abutting property owners.

6. 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

7. 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 %

8. Maintenance costs should be shared by all taxpayers,
not just those whose property abuts sidewalks.

9. Sidewalks and curbs are often damaged by
illegal parking, car wrecks, and other problems
beyond the control of property owners.

10. Recommended
Reforms

11. Create a comprehensive
inventory of sidewalk conditions

12. Use a points-based system to prioritize projects
Score points
for both
pedestrian
generators
and
deficiencies

13. Reduce maintenance costs
Use a two-pronged
approach of
repair and replacement.

14. 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.

15. A bond referendum could help, but
competition for funds will be fierce.

16. 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

17. .
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.

18. 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

19. 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

20. • 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

21. 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.