L.A.'s Crumbling Sidewalks, Who Is Responsible for Repairs?

SAN DIEGO - Aug. 17, 2015 - PRLog -- Recent articles in the Los Angeles Times hilighted the huge backlog of broken and lifted sidewalks throughout the city.  The damaged walkways have cost the city millions of dollars due to injury payouts from lawsuits.  The city has begun to address the problem with a preliminary road map for managing the $1.4 billion dollar, 30 year sidewalk rebuilding program.

Who is responsible for the cost of repairs and how did Los Angeles end up in this predicament?  California state law placed the burden of sidewalk repairs on adjacent property owners. A majority of California cities adhere to the state policy, however not the City of Los Angeles, which forty years ago opted for a policy that made the City responsible for repairing sidewalks damaged by tree roots in city parkways. Back in the 1970’s, when federal funding was available for the work, Los Angeles opted to pay for tree-damaged sidewalks. When the federal funding was depleted, voters declined to support tax increases for the repair work, leading to the current massive backlog of damaged sidewalks.

Now, the city is looking for a way to make repairs and transfer future repair and liablity costs to the adjacent property owners.  Click on the link to read the full article.

http://landscapeexpertwitness.com/2015/08/17/trees-damagi...

http://www.latimes.com/local/cityhall/la-me-sidewalks-201...