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Sidewalk Improvement Program
Sidewalks allow all community members, regardless of economic status or physical ability, to travel safely throughout the City. Providing safe pathways to pedestrians not only helps the City's most vulnerable groups but also offers multi-modal travel options that are essential to meeting the goals outlined by the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP). The City of Evanston’s Sidewalk Improvement Program is a City-funded sidewalk replacement and gap infill program, with no cost share expected from the adjacent property owner.
The sidewalk program has 7 phases which address issues throughout the City based on a priority system. The phases are as follows:
- Phase 1: Public and Private K-12 Schools including Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Senior Living Facilities
- Phase 2: Hospitals and Medical Centers
- Phase 3: Transit Facilities
- Phase 4: Grocery Stores
- Phase 5: City Facilities and Parks
- Phase 6: Arterial Streets
- Phase 7: Residential Streets
Phases 1 and 2 were chosen to promote equity by prioritizing sidewalks used by vulnerable populations. This includes children, senior citizens, and those using medical facilities.
Phases 3, 4, and 5 are prioritized to improve the City’s pedestrian transportation networks and promote safe and efficient non-vehicular travel. Transportation and mobility is a focus area of CARP with the specific goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled and increasing trips made by walking, bicycling and transit. These phases were ranked based on demand by pedestrian travelers; public transportation stations, places to access fresh food, and public facilities such as libraries and parks.
The final phases will address the remainder of the City’s sidewalks. Since the final phases will have the largest amount of work they will be broken out into sub-stages. These sub-stages will provide a rotation to move through the City until all locations have been addressed.
According to Section 7-3-2-10 (B) of the Evanston City Code, in order for a section of sidewalk to be considered substandard and qualify for replacement, it must meet at least one of the following criteria:
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Sidewalk squares that have sunken or risen to a height difference of one (1) inch or more to the adjacent sidewalk square shall be replaced;
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An abrupt change in the slope of the whole sidewalk square;
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Sidewalk squares that are broken and/or separated into three (3) or more pieces with cracks equal or greater to one-fourth (¼) inch in width shall be replaced;
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Sidewalk squares that have spalling or scaling to thirty-three percent (33%) or more of the surface shall be replaced;
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Sidewalk squares that require improvement to meet the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.
The City does not repair sidewalks and curbs that do not meet the criteria of the Sidewalk Improvement Program. Conditions such as ponding water on a sidewalk, icy conditions or mud on the sidewalk are the responsibility of the property owner to maintain. According to Section 7-2-9-3 of the City Code, the property owner or tenant must maintain sidewalks clear of snow, ice, dirt, weeds, and other obstructions.
Sections of sidewalk prone to ponding water that don't meet the program criteria may be eligible for a post-rainfall event check. This check is designed to assess whether areas of concerns have sufficiently drained within 72 hours, the duration the City allows for normal drainage. These checks are performed in the spring, summer and fall following a moderate rain event. If a post-rainfall event check finds a property to have standing water on the sidewalk or curb for a longer duration than acceptable, City staff will contact the property owner regarding options to improve the condition and discuss further City participation.
When a sidewalk drains in an appropriate amount of time, the City will not take any further action on the matter.
The following is a list of suggestions that may improve sidewalk drainage.
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Identify sources of water and evaluate if the sources can be reduced or relocated to minimize discharge to the sidewalk
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Consider using a power edger to edge your lawn adjacent to the sidewalk. The intention is to create a small reservoir which will hold the water off pavement.
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Consider hiring a contractor to regrade the parkway. Only a small section of parkway immediately adjacent to the area of concern may need to be re-graded to allow water to continue to move off of the sidewalk.
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Consider installing an infiltration trench along the edge of sidewalk to allow the water to drain more quickly into the soil.
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Consider hiring a contractor to rebuild or repair the sidewalk at an elevation or slope that improves drainage.
