San Diego has persuaded private property owners to help solve the city’s sidewalk crisis with a successful carrot-and-stick campaign launched last fall. Nearly 100 of the 1,400 property owners notified they could be liable for injuries caused by damaged sidewalks near their property have agreed to hire contractors to make repairs that typically cost a few thousand dollars. Such notifications had been so unsuccessful at spurring action in the past that the city stopped sending them a few years ago. But when city officials resumed sending them last fall, they added a twist. Property owners no longer have to pay a $2,200 city permit fee, and they can avoid a bureaucratic approval process by self-certifying their repairs with before-and-after photos they mail to the city. “This program has been a success in our eyes,” said Maggie McCormick, assistant deputy director of the Transportation Department. City officials say they need property owners to step up and help solve a sidewalk crisis that costs millions a year in injury lawsuits and can make walking in San Diego a dangerous proposition. The new program helped San Diego set a record for sidewalk repairs during the fiscal year that ended June 30 with more than 23,000, but city officials stress that the crisis is far from solved. They estimate San Diego would need to spend $238 million over the next 10 years — five times more than the city typically spends — to fix a daunting backlog of repairs that was estimated at 85,000 in 2015. A several-inch-high crack sticks up on a Pacific Beach sidewalk on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024 in San Diego. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) While city crews have made many thousands of repairs since then, officials say they doubt much overall progress has been made, because many city sidewalks are near or past the end of their projected 60-year lifespans. Most of the city’s sidewalks were built during the rapid construction of the city’s roadway system between the start of World War II and the 1970s, city officials said. There are also some older sidewalks built in the early 1900s. San Diego typically spends about $4 million a year on sidewalk repairs, far less than the $23.8 million per year officials estimate would be needed to solve the problem. Persuading property owners to help is part of the solution, officials said. “By eliminating fees and streamlining the process, we’re making it easier to repair damaged sidewalks in front of private properties,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Coupled with all the work the city is doing to improve sidewalks in the public right of way, this program will make pedestrians safer and improve their experience across all of our neighborhoods.” City officials say they plan to send out another 3,600 notices of responsibility before the fee waiver for private sidewalk repairs ends in June 2026, which could spur hundreds more private repairs. But the city has also stepped up in-house repairs, more than doubling the annual budget for sidewalk slicing repairs from $600,000 to $1,250,000 in fiscal year 2023 and sustaining that level since. The accelerated spending means the city has nearly wiped out the $3 million included in its last slicing contract, which was signed in 2022 and was expected to run through 2027. The city just agreed to a new five-year deal that includes $7.5 million in work. Notably, the new contract runs contrary to inflation by reducing the cost of repairs from $15.50 per linear foot to $14 per linear foot. Robin Caparosa sweeps the sidewalk, which has a several-inch-high crack, near her Pacific Beach home on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Slicing is a sort of in-between fix. Many sidewalk flaws are fixed with asphalt to smooth out an uneven area, while more serious flaws require a full panel replacement. Slicing fixes part of a panel. The city has also budgeted $300,000 per year for sidewalk repairs in low-income neighborhoods, where residents might be less able to fund repairs near their property. The willingness of property owners to step up and pay for repairs is notable, partly because many are unaware of their responsibilities until notified by the city. Because sidewalks can seem like just as much a public responsibility as roads, storm drains and other parts of the public right of way, many property owners are unaware that state law has a special designation for sidewalks that makes owners of adjacent property responsible for repairs. San Diego’s policy says the city is responsible when the damage was caused by parkway trees, grade subsidence, city-performed utility cuts and heat expansion. That leaves property owners responsible when the damage is caused by private trees and tree roots, deteriorating concrete and cracking, weather conditions or normal wear and tear. Councilmember Joe LaCava said residents should be grateful to the city, not resentful. “The city of San Diego has been, in my mind, generous in stepping up and actually doing sidewalk replacement,” he said. LaCava said he’s pleased with the numbers so far in the fee-waiver program, which the city has dubbed the “safe sidewalks” program. “Not everyone is responding, but we are seeing some success,” he said. Residents with questions about damaged sidewalks can call (619) 527-3941, visit sandiego.gov/safesidewalks or send an email to [email protected].