Naperville sidewalks that pose a tripping hazard in six residential neighborhoods will be “trimmed” this fall, allowing the city — and residents — to save a little money by not digging them up and replacing the concrete, officials said.
The process requires a contractor to shave off the pavement to make the pathway level, according to a city manager’s memorandum.
Under the existing sidewalk maintenance program, Naperville replaces defective sidewalks and passes 40% of the cost on to adjacent residential property owners and 50% on to commercial property owners.
A sidewalk square must meet one of three criteria to be replaced: a vertical mismatch of one inch or greater, breaks that create at least three separate pieces or deterioration on 50% or more of the surface.
The city’s primary fix — remove bad squares and pour new ones — works for sidewalks with surface defects or breaks, William Novack, director of Transportation, Engineering and Development, or TED, said in the memorandum.
But when there is one square higher than the other, it’s not a cost-effective solution to improve safety, he said.
“Completely removing and replacing a good square of sidewalk simply because it does not vertically match the adjacent square is somewhat of a waste of a perfectly good sidewalk square,” Novack said.
Shaving the sidewalk is a third of the cost, and if the city picked up the full tab for that, it would still be less than the city’s 60% portion of replacement.
The plan is for the city to pay for the full cost of shaving sidewalks this fall in the business park between North Aurora and Diehl roads on the west side, and in Baileywood, The Fields, Saddle Creek, Woodlake, Charles Place and Country Lakes neighborhoods.
After three years, staff will provide the Naperville City Council with a report on overall costs and any observed changes.
TED officials estimate that more than half the city’s sidewalk repairs are because a square is askew.
In 2022, 3,891 properties were identified as eligible for replacement.
Novack said about half the sidewalk repairs needed are identified when the adjacent street is resurfaced and the other half when residents call the city.
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In 2021, the city spent $1 million to replace sidewalks and sent out bills totaling $352,246 for the property owners’ share of work.
One drawback, Novack said, is the shaved area will look different from the rest of the sidewalk and there’s a concern some homeowners might not like the look.
But as the method has become increasingly popular in other towns, “we have kept our ears open to comments, none of which have been negative,” he said.
Two council members in April questioned why Naperville doesn’t foot the entire bill for sidewalk replacement and asked staff to investigate best practices of other municipalities, such as Schaumburg and Evanston, and the appropriateness of the city fully funding the program in 2023.
In response, Novack offered the shaving alternative.
Also in the memorandum, he addressed why Schaumburg and Evanston abandoned their cost-sharing sidewalk programs.
In Schaumburg, a large volume of sidewalk repair requests were based on aesthetics, which led to the village’s decision to no longer cost share, Novack said. With Schaumburg paying the entire cost, it’s up to the village to decide if a square should be replaced or not.
Evanston’s decision was made because its replacement program was driven entirely by requests, he said.
When costs were shared, sidewalks were repaired in high-income neighborhoods where residents were willing and able to pay for improvements, he said. Property owners in low-income areas made fewer requests.
Evanston now designates sections of the city to repair each year, Novack said.