If you see something, say something.
This is what we’re taught. Notice a hazard? Don’t just ignore it. Tell someone about it.
Now imagine you do see something in your Los Angeles neighborhood: you see multiple people trip and fall over the same broken sidewalk on your street. You see people in wheelchairs being forced to take dangerous detours over the curb, into the road where there’s no shoulder to protect from the cars whizzing by, and forced to continue in the road until they reach the next curb cut that lets them return to the ironic “safe” sidewalk.
So, you do the right thing and say something. You report the hazard to the City of Los Angeles the only way you can: through the City’s MyLA311 system. Your request has been received and recorded. Great! Estimated wait time: “in excess of 10 years.” Also, the City says: we might need to contact you during that time. Please be available. If we can’t reach you at your preferred method of communication after three attempts, your request will be deferred.
If you change your preferred method of communication in the 10 years it takes the City to pay your matter any attention (not a stretch to think you might change contact information), that broken sidewalk will continue to remain broken. No matter that the broken sidewalk has nothing to do with whether or not you still use the same phone number. No matter that the location of the broken sidewalk can’t change, even if you move. If they can’t reach you, they set it aside.
Does this sound like a functional city?
Even more than roads, sidewalks are connectors that link neighborhoods and enable people to safely walk, ride in their wheelchairs, or ride to a friend’s house, to school, to work, to the park, to church, or to the doctor. One of a city’s most critical elements and fibers for the people is its sidewalks and all the things that can’t happen without them: access ramps, shade trees, lights, and much more. Without a well-managed sidewalk program, there is no chance for a well-managed street tree or street light program.
The City of Los Angeles boasts one of the country’s largest network of sidewalks that millions rely on daily. Despite how essential they are for public infrastructure and daily life, sidewalks are overlooked by the City.
There’s no program that oversees them. There’s no clear articulation of who is responsible for improving them or for their upkeep. There’s no plan in the works to make things right.
The Scale of LA’s Sidewalk Network
LA’s sidewalk network is staggering. With an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 miles of sidewalks crisscrossing the city—though no one knows the exact mileage of existing or missing sidewalks—it is one of the most extensive public space infrastructures in the United States. According to a 2021 Controller’s audit, more than half of this network is broken or in disrepair.
That’s 5,000+ miles of broken or damaged sidewalk. (That’s the equivalent of a broken sidewalk stretching from LA City Hall to Santiago, Chile.)
“Some of the sidewalk on La Brea is so bad, you would have to walk in traffic, almost, but you can’t.”
That’s a quote from our Mayor Bass, as told to Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez… this month!
To be fair, managing such an extensive network is a monumental task. It doesn’t help that it’s a task that’s been ignored since the 1970s—the last time the City had a robust sidewalk program. Decades of neglect have allowed even minor issues to escalate into widespread problems. Cracks, tree root intrusions, and other forms of damage are common, and the City’s response to these issues has historically lagged far behind the need.
We produced this short video about LA sidewalks six years ago, and it’s still relevant today. Back then, we also gathered community members at events in Boyle Heights and Panorama City. These summits called The Tripping Point, were designed to organize advocates for better sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops, and urban tree canopies. Again, these needs are still urgent today.
The Scope of Responsibility
In Los Angeles, sidewalk maintenance has traditionally fallen on property owners. This means that homeowners and businesses are expected to repair and maintain the sidewalks adjacent to their properties, a policy rooted in state law from 1911. Not surprisingly, this decentralized, patchwork, and private sector management approach has led to significant inconsistencies in the condition of public spaces on the sidewalks across the city.
Fixing a buckled sidewalk can cost thousands of dollars. Theoretically, the City will share costs up to $10,000 (2021 Controller’s audit). But that requires spending the money upfront and then waiting and hoping the rebate comes through. Rebate applications are submitted through the City’s MyLA311 service request system—and we’ve already seen how well that works for sidewalks.
Wealthier neighborhoods often have the resources to maintain well-kept sidewalks, while lower-income areas may struggle with the financial burden of repairs. This disparity exacerbates existing inequalities within the city. Deteriorating sidewalks in lower-income neighborhoods make it difficult or dangerous to navigate safely, limiting access to essential services and hindering the ability to enjoy simple activities like walking or playing outside. These amenities, often taken for granted in wealthier neighborhoods, are crucial for overall well-being.
Over the past 50 years, Los Angeles policymakers have made the choice to exclude sidewalks from most of LA’s transportation efforts and investments. The City of LA prioritizes public tax dollars for roads and highways while ignoring critical public space infrastructure such as sidewalks. That’s like spending all your home repair money on the floors while ignoring the crumbling ceilings and walls.
This neglect has had lasting consequences. One example of deferred maintenance has resulted in significant repair backlogs: a 10-year waiting period for access ramps, without which those in wheelchairs or those pushing strollers can’t even get around their own neighborhoods.
LA Makes History With Largest ADA Settlement in the Nation
In 2016, the City of L.A. came to an agreement that ended a class action lawsuit initiated by disability rights advocates alleging inaccessible sidewalk conditions across Los Angeles. Known as the Willits settlement, it requires LA to spend $1.37 billion over 30 years to address broken sidewalks, inaccessible curb ramps, and other access barriers in the public right-of-way.
In addition, in the 2021 audit, the City Controller said that in the previous five fiscal years alone, the City received more than 1,700 claims and 1,020 lawsuits for sidewalk injuries, and paid out over $35 million in settlements as a result.
Setting the Stage for Reform
Sidewalks do more than just help us get from place to place—they’re the foundation of a city’s livability. Sidewalks provide a space to rest in the shade of a tree, wait for the bus with friends, enjoy a meal from a street vendor, take a walk to get outside and move, or just play for kids and adults. When cities invest in essentials like shade trees, streetlights, bus shelters, access ramps, trash cans, benches, and public restrooms, sidewalks become places where daily life can be for everyone.
This is the standard of service that should be expected from every city, especially large cities with multi-billion dollar annual budgets. This is what a well-managed City of Los Angeles could achieve. However, the current approach falls far short, and change is long overdue.
To understand the need for reform, we must first look at the City’s existing Fix-and-Release policy—a well-intentioned but flawed system of sidewalk maintenance. We’ll cover that in our next post…
