Title
Briefing on Sidewalk Condition Assessment Results
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive a briefing on Sidewalk Condition Assessment results.
Report
Issue:
Whether to a briefing on Sidewalk Condition Assessment results.
Staff Contact:
Max DeJarnatt, Associate Planner, Public Works Transportation, 360.570.3723
Presenter(s):
Max DeJarnatt, Associate Planner
Background and Analysis:
Some sidewalks in Olympia are in a state of poor repair, and efforts to encourage the adjacent property owners to fix them are often not successful.
Currently, OMC 12.36.010 requires adjacent property owners to repair their sidewalks. The City does maintain sidewalks on streets where we maintain street trees: downtown and along many major corridors. These streets have a lot of pedestrian activity and transit stops.
Elsewhere, once we are aware of a damaged sidewalk, we send a letter to the property owner and request that they repair the sidewalk adjacent to their property.
In November 2023, City staff briefed LUEC on the City's approach to sidewalk repair and presented examples of approaches used by other cities. The Committee requested that staff complete a sidewalk condition inventory to understand the extent of sidewalk damage citywide.
Over the summer of 2024, a contractor completed this inventory, identifying nearly 28,000 unique areas of sidewalk damage. They categorized these areas by type and severity level. Their final report, attached, summarizes their findings.
In 2024, staff used $450,000 in capital funds to repair 19 sites of sidewalk damage throughout the city. Also last year, City crews repaired 25 sites of damage. This data is useful in considering a path forward for addressing sidewalk repair.
At this meeting, staff will share the results of the inventory, and the relative costs of completing sidewalk repair, either through a contractor or city crews.
In 2026, a discussi...
Click here for full text