Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón yesterday took action to offer funding for needed repairs to broken and buckled sidewalks in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.  Thanks to Councilmember Alarcón’s “Emergency Sidewalk Improvement Project,” $500,000 in AB 1290 community redevelopment funding will go directly to sidewalk repairs in communities such as Pacoima, Sylmar, Mission Hills, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills and Sunland-Tujunga.

“Broken sidewalks are more than just blight in our neighborhoods, they are safety hazards and financial liabilities for taxpayers in Los Angeles,” said Councilmember Alarcón.  “Instead of making taxpayers pay out legal settlements when people trip and fall because a sidewalk is cracked, I would much rather invest in improving our community.”

In order to ensure that the $500,000 grant is used efficiently, Councilmember Alarcón’s Emergency Sidewalk Improvement Project will focus on fixing the “worst of worst” sidewalks in the Seventh Council District, with more than 430 broken sidewalks that have been reported by constituents serving as the first priority areas to be repaired.  Additional repair requests can be submitted via the Council District 7 website at www.cd7.lacity.org.

The project will be managed by the Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Street Services and the work will be done by City employees – saving the City time by avoiding a long outside contractor bidding process.  Where applicable, the scope of work will include removal and replacement of failed sidewalks, root pruning, tree trimming, and tree removal. The sidewalk repairs, which are estimated to cost between $18 and $35 per square foot (depending on how damaged the sidewalk is) are scheduled to begin in late July and will continue throughout this calendar year. Notifications of sidewalk work will be provided in order to ensure minimum impact to adjacent residents, businesses, or public facilities.

Councilmember Alarcón’s motion, which was seconded by Councilmember Joe Buscaino, the Chair of the Public Works Committee, will be placed on the Tuesday, July 3 City Council agenda.