Sidewalks Public Forum Tuesday Night

A public forum to discuss the City of Atlanta’s sidewalk maintenance is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 17 in the Old Council Chambers at City Hall.

The 6:30-8 p.m. meeting at 55 Trinity Avenue will feature panelists including Council President Ceasar Mitchell, Councilmembers Michael Bond and Kwanza Hall, and Public Works Commissioner Richard Mendoza

It will be moderated by PEDS President and CEO, Sally Flocks, who for years has been critical of poorly maintained sidewalks in the city. Based in Midtown at 1389 Peachtree Street, PEDS is a results-oriented, advocacy organization dedicated to making metro Atlanta safe and accessible for all pedestrians.

Last month, Flocks told the council: “I remember when I was on the Task Force for a Walkable Atlanta back in 2004. We told the mayor we need to get rid of our dysfunctional system. OK, it’s eight years later. Let’s do it. Let’s put a line item in the city’s budget for sidewalk maintenance.”

Flocks and the group claim that “Atlanta is spending too much money on claims and not enough money on maintenance.”

In April, the city paid a blind man injured on an Atlanta sidewalk $3 million as a result of a lawsuit. Another $1.14 million was shelled out to settle a claim by a woman who said her shoe got caught in a fractured sidewalk.

As it stands now, city law makes abutting property owners responsible for maintaining and repairing broken or damaged sidewalks. But as evidence by the crumbling sidewalks throughout the city, these sidewalks, which are the property of the city, aren’t being properly maintained.

“It is time to change the city’s funding and to actually pay for sidewalk maintenance,’’ Flocks told the council last month. “It does not work to leave it up to the property owners. Property owners are finding that they cannot get contractors who are willing to do piecemeal work.

“It makes much more sense to treat our sidewalks as a network and to repair them street by street.”

PEDS officials are looking for a strong turnout Tuesday to show elected officials that voters want safe sidewalks.

On its website PEDS states: “Help keep up the momentum for policy change that enables the City to address the estimated $152 million backlog of broken sidewalks and missing or broken curb ramps.”