Assistant Public Works Maintenance Manager Arturo Rodriguez told the Environmental Transportation Advisory Commission on Dec. 9 that the city’s sidewalk replacement program addresses an estimated backlog of about 5,000 reported locations across roughly 800 miles of sidewalk. “The goal of this program, improve safe walking accessibility for pedestrians and increase, active modes of transportation,” Arturo said, noting the program has repaired roughly 3,600 locations and about 365,000 square feet of sidewalk since July 2020.

Rodriguez said that if the city “had a magic wand and we had sufficient money ... to repair all of these locations,” the immediate estimated cost would be about $10,000,000. He said the council committed an annual dedicated $1,000,000 from the general fund beginning in FY2022–23 and that approximately $8,000,000 has been invested for sidewalk repairs across the last seven fiscal years.

Acting Public Works Director Rudy Rosa explained funding constraints for roadway and sidewalk work, saying roughly $15 million a year comes from gas-tax revenue but approximately half is legally restricted to pavement. He said Measure X has allowed the city to appropriate general-fund resources for sidewalks but warned that Measure X is scheduled to sunset around 2029 and that the city projects a potential $30,000,000 impact to the general fund when that occurs. “Will the funding for sidewalks continue? That will be up to council, and city management,” Rosa said.

Staff also described a delivery change: council authorized creating an in-house concrete crew to perform sidewalk repairs year-round, a shift from prior short-term contracts. Rodriguez said the crew will be staffed with about a dozen hires and that the in-house team is intended to provide continuity and reduce gaps in available work capacity.

On inspection and prioritization, staff said the program continues to use resident reports and field inspections to identify hazards and prioritize ADA safety issues; Rodriguez said the most common cause of sidewalk lifting is tree roots and that future plantings will be matched to parkway sizes to reduce uplift. Commissioners asked about technology such as drones or automated scanning for assessments; Rodriguez said boots-on-the-ground inspections remain the short-term, court-defensible standard but staff will evaluate new technologies that could augment inventory work.

What’s next: staff said the sidewalk program will continue prioritizing ADA hazards and high-need areas and will seek to perform assessments and integrate sidewalk work into other city projects where possible. Commissioners were advised that long-term funding decisions will require council direction as Measure X approaches sunset.