Sidewalk Repair Program and Ramp Requests

​​This millage-funded Sidewalk Repair Program is broken into  a ​5-year cycle with typically 4 areas per year, as depicted in the following map:

Side​​walk millage

In November of 2011, voters approved a millage for the purpose of repairing sidewalks in the public right-of-way. Prior to the passage of this millage, property owners were required to repair or replace sidewalks in disrepair that adjoined their property. 

In November 2016 and November 2020, voters passed the Street, Bridge, and Sidewalk Millage, which effectively allowed the City to continue making sidewalk repairs. 

For more than ten years, the City has inspected, and contractors have repaired, the City's sidewalks and ramps throughout the entire City. The program is broken into a five-year cycle to repair 20% of the sidewalk and ramps each year.

What repairs are made as part of this?

The repairs to be made through this program focus on removing any hindrances to the mobility of users. These repairs will focus primarily on:

• Sidewalks that are displaced more than ½ inch.
• Areas of severe water ponding/icing.
  
• Slabs that have settled or been lifted out of place enough to cause a serious hindrance to mobility.

The City's contractors use three different methods for repair: removing and replacing sidewalk slabs, horizontally cutting the sidewalk to remove vertical displacements (which will result in a "leveling out" of adjacent slabs that have been displaced), and sidewalk lifting (mud jacking).

What sidewalks qualify for the program?

Sidewalks within the public right-of-way adjoining properties that are on the tax roll are included in the program, and the necessary repairs will be made by the City at no additional cost to the property owners.

Sidewalks adjoining properties that are not on the City tax roll, such as schools, universities, churches, etc., will still be responsible for repairing the sidewalks adjacent to their property. These sidewalks will be inspected along with the rest of the sidewalk in the area, and a letter will be sent to the property owners informing them of the need to repair the sidewalk.

Sidewalks on private property or adjacent to private streets are not included in this program.

Construction

In advance of construction in your area, City staff will inspect and mark sidewalks for repair. At that time, if there are any repairs to be made in front of your property, a door hanger will be left at your house. This will provide more information about the work to be done and contact information if you have further questions.

The work will typically last only a few days on any given street, and will usually have relatively minimal impact on homeowners. The contractor will likely have to install temporary No Parking signs on the street where they are working so that they are able access their work areas. Garbage, recycling, and compost pickup, as well as utility services and mail delivery will be maintained throughout the project.

Driveways will typically remain available for use unless the needed repairs happen to be in line with the driveway itself. If this is the case, a notice will be left at your house in advance of the work.

Pedestrian access will be maintained during the project, although detours may occasionally be posted.

*All disturbed areas will be restored and reseeded by the contractor and re-inspected after the project to make sure turf has established.

Ramp Requests

What is a curb ramp?

A curb ramp is the section of concrete, typically on a slope, that connects the sidewalk to the roadway and provides pedestrians a location to cross the street. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has multiple requirements for these ramps, which the City is obligated to follow. Some of these requirements include maximum slopes on the ramps and the level landings (i.e. the "top" of the ramp), as well as the need to install detectable warning surfaces (the "dots" or "domes" installed at the bottom of the ramp) that act as a cue for visually impaired pedestrians.

Previous Ramp Replacements

The City has completed work under a consent decree to retroactively bring all corner ramps into ADA-compliance on streets that were resurfaced or reconstructed between 1992 and 2004 by the year 2018.

Nearly all of the hundreds of curb ramps on the consent decree were brought into compliance, with very few exceptions allowed under the consent decree. An example of those is when the slope of the ramp would not meet ADA standards due to the current grade of the roadway and existing sidewalks, and a reconstruction of the roadway will be required to bring the ramp into compliance. Another example is found when the curb ramp doesn't align with a second curb ramp across the street due to existing trees or driveways.  Engineering geometrics will have to be performed in order to complete the crosswalk, and in some cases the curb ramps are relocated farther down the street.

In the future, ramps will continue to be upgraded in conjunction with paving projects on the streets adjacent to ramps.  

Ramp repair requests

Requests to repair ramps​ can be sent to [email protected] for assessment and incorporation into the City's ramp work, funded by Public Act 51, Michigan Transportation Fund.

What should we expect during ramp repair work?

During constructi​on, a City-hired contractor will typically remove some of the sidewalk adjacent to the proposed ramp, as well as some curb and gutter and pavement. It is usually a small strip of pavement that is removed and is later patched upon completion of the ramp. Pavement patching will usually be done within a week of the ramp construction; but gravel will temporarily be left in front of the ramp to maintain a temporary walkable surface across the road until the permanent pavement can be installed.

In order to achieve the required grades for the curb ramps, we frequently have to significantly lower the level landings (the level landing is the slab of sidewalk at the top of the ramp, usually at the intersection of the sidewalks). This often creates the need to build a small retaining wall/curb at the back of the sidewalk.

All disturbed areas will be restored and reseeded by the contractor and re-inspected after the project to make sure turf has established.

New sidewalks

The Street, Bridge, and Sidewalk ​Millage is for the repair and maintenance of existing sidewalks, and not for the construction of sidewalks where none currently exist. Visit our new sidewalks page for information on how you can request construction of a new sidewalk.