Sidewalk Replacement Program (Public Meeting)
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The Van Buren Township Public Services Department was been asked by the Board of Trustees to develop a concept for a sidewalk replacement program. Over the last 6 months, the Department has collected information, spoken to contractors and consultants, and reviewed other community sidewalk replacement programs.
A sidewalk replacement program provides for an effective means to correct existing sidewalk defects. These defects include but are not limited to age deterioration, cracking, disintegration, root lifting, settling and damage from construction activities. Repair or replacement of these defects is imperative to provide for safe pedestrian travel.
While most sidewalks abutting public roads in the Township are within the Wayne County right of way, the maintenance and upkeep of the sidewalk is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. Under a Michigan Supreme Court decision, local municipalities are responsible for making sure property owners maintain their sidewalks in a safe condition.
The Department of Public Services was asked to develop a concept sidewalk replacement program framework. Staff has developed a concept program working with sidewalk contractors and consultants, based on nearby communities’ programs. The estimated costs for this program represent industry standards and pricing solicited from local contractors.
Staff identified the pilot project area of Van Buren Estates (Haggerty Subdivision) with its 716 lots and approximately 214,800 linear feet of sidewalk. In order to gauge Township resident interest in this potential program, a Townhall meeting will be held on April 27, 2021, at 7:00 pm on Zoom. It is encouraged that all property owners attend this meeting.
At this meeting the following will be discussed:
- The Sidewalk Assessment Process
- How the Sidewalk Replacement will be billed out to residents
- Options for residents who want to do their own sidewalk replacement
While property owners would be paying for the replacement, the Township would establish an estimated budget of 1.12 million (assuming 40% of the sidewalk in Van Buren Estates needs to be replaced). This would place the average estimated cost per property owner for repair under the concept project to be approximately $1,600 per lot. This would be billed out to residents based on how many flags (slabs) of sidewalks are replaced per their lot. Please note that these costs are estimates for the Haggerty Subdivision Pilot Project scope and do not include ramps, driveway approaches, driveway sidewalk, and sprinkler repair.