Recently, we reported on a group of Eugene neighbors who found innovative ways to create a more connected sidewalk grid. But fractured and disjointed sidewalks continue to be a hazard in much of the city.
Dick Gann, who lives at The Abbey retirement community in downtown Eugene, said he went out for coffee with a friend last fall and fell on a sidewalk near the Kiva Grocery.
“We were just walking along and all of a sudden my walker just jammed in a crack in the sidewalk, one of the wheels caught it," he said. "It stopped dead and I went right over the top of it.”
He pointed to the top of his head, to a scar from a surgery.
“As you can see, there’s a dent there that I added to," he said.
Gann said people brought stacks of napkins to help with the bleeding, and called 911. He said a few months later, that patch of sidewalk had been smoothed out. It’s unclear whether the repair was connected to the accident.
Another Abbey resident, Donna Fletcher, opened her laptop to show photos of her face after a bad fall on an uneven sidewalk. In the picture, she’s black and blue with one eye swollen shut. Fletcher said she was in the hospital for about six hours.
“I was on 20th Street when I fell," she said. "It was steep, and there were several breaks in the sidewalk."
The City of Eugene doesn’t track the number of falls or injuries related to damaged sidewalks, according to Eugene’s Public Works spokesperson, Marion Suitor Barnes.
“We don’t generally hear about it because we’re not usually involved," she said. "Unless they come to us for a first step, in which case we would just advise them that it’s the responsibility of the property owner, you know, just advising them of the law.”
In Eugene, as in most cities, adjacent property owners are responsible for keeping sidewalks safe.
The city has an online tool to report sidewalk obstructions, which may be caused by poor construction, changing soils, or tree growth. The 2024 data shows more than 180 complaints, with clusters downtown, on Chad Drive, and in the Churchill area.
Suitor Barnes said the city’s full-time sidewalk inspector looks into the complaints and other, requested inspections. “In 2023, our inspector did 525 investigations and did 98 notifications to property owners," she said.
She said hotspots are common, and if the inspector sees a location with many hazardous sidewalks, “he’ll notify the entire block that the area in front of their home likely does need some sort of upgrade or attention.”
Some repairs take years
Some Eugene residents think the city’s communication could be better.
Years ago, said Carolee Hirsch, the city sent notices to her and many of her neighbors asking them to make sidewalk repairs.
“Months and months later, after we'd gotten ours fixed, I was still walking the dogs around and there were other places that were marked, and nothing had happened,” she told KLCC.
Hirsch may have needed to wait not months, but years, to see some of the repairs made.
The city offers property owners the option of having Eugene employees do the work, and then billing for it. But, a recent Public Works memo stated that in 2021 there were 60 unaddressed sidewalk repairs. As of six months ago, two of those repairs were still not done. The memo said it had been hard to keep the work crews staffed.
Sidewalk work isn’t cheap. Cody Johnson with C & R Concrete and Excavation said prices vary, but a one-panel replacement can cost $1,000 to $2,000. The price goes up from there.
Suitor Barnes said the city wants to help people afford the fixes.
“We try to work with homeowners to figure out a process by which they can bring their property into compliance," she said. "Because we know it’s expensive, but we’re also trying to help them get to a place where they’re able to do it.”
If a sidewalk panel is offset from the next one, it may simply need to be ground down so that it isn’t a tripping hazard. Last August, the City of Eugene acquired a grinder and started a pilot program to smooth out city-owned sidewalks near parks and senior centers. Suitor Barnes said they’re still training employees on how to use it, and figuring out its capacity.
On the city’s website, Jackie Hallett, Eugene’s Surface Operations Manager said grinder services may be offered to Eugene residents free of cost at some point.
A group of neighborhood leaders in Eugene came together recently to find a more stable and equitable way to fund safer sidewalks. They started a online petition last year, and have about 815 signatures. According to Gerry Meenaghan, a former member of the city’s Active Transportation Committee, the petition, along with suggestions for improvements, was presented to the city council during public comment sessions in 2024.
There may be some changes coming for the way sidewalks are built and maintained in Eugene. Suitor Barnes said the city is starting four pilot projects this year that will enable property owners adjacent to where city work is being done to save money on sidewalk work. For example, she said, with 24th Avenue being expanded for bike lanes, neighboring property owners will be notified that they can partner with the city to take advantage of economies of scale, while the city has concrete trucks and surveyors at hand.
And, Suitor Barnes said Public Works employees and the City Engineer are scheduled to speak at a Eugene City Council work session June 25. Potential discussion points include making financial assistance more accessible, growing the city’s capacity to do sidewalk work, and looking into a new funding source, such as a bond or fee to support that work.
To report a sidewalk obstruction, use the City of Eugene's Request for Service form, and choose "sidewalk inspection request" from the drop-down menu.
