Identifying Hazards and Making Repairs

Identifying Hazards

Public sidewalks are inspected periodically by City of Eugene staff, who look for problems such as sunken, cracked, or raised pavement sidewalks, missing sections, and exposed rough aggregate due to disintegration of the surface cement. Frequently, tree roots push up sections of sidewalk, causing tripping hazards. Generally, a misalignment of more than one-half inch is considered a tripping hazard. For detailed information about the specific standards used to evaluate sidewalk safety, contact the Public Works Maintenance Division at 541-682-4800.

Notifying Property Owners

If deficiencies are found, the City notifies the property owner(s) abutting the damaged section(s) of sidewalk. The notice specifies the corrective actions that are required. These actions may include grinding high spots, raising sunken slabs, or removing damaged sections and pouring new concrete slabs.

Repair Options

If your sidewalk is deficient, you have several options for taking corrective action:

• Property owners can do the work themselves. Often the work is strenuous and requires specialized equipment such as grinders, jacks or concrete finishing tools.
• Property owners can hire a licensed contractor to do the repairs. A list of contractors can be found online using a YellowBook search for "Concrete Contractors". 
• Property owners can ask the City of Eugene Public Works Maintenance Division to repair the sidewalk. The City will bill the property owner if the work is done by a City crew. For an estimate of current City charges to repair sidewalks, call 541-682-4800 or email the Public Works Maintenance Division.

Repair work must be completed within the time limit specified in the notice, generally 20 days. If the repairs are not completed in a timely manner, the City will do the work and bill the property owner. It is the responsibility of the property owner to barricade broken or dangerous portions of the sidewalk.

Repair Examples

Grind down the high spots, narrow the sidewalk as it passes obstacle, or reroute the sidewalk