CLEVELAND – After five years of planning and several delays, the 50/50 sidewalk repair program is finally making progress.
The program officially launched in 2022, but has been part of the city’s plans for about five years, according to the City of Cleveland.
News 5 last spoke to James “Jim” Friedl at the end of July about the cracked and broken sidewalk in front of his house.
‘Tired of waiting’: Cleveland’s 50/50 sidewalk repair program hits hurdles, set to resume in August
RELATED: ‘Tired of waiting’: Cleveland’s 50/50 sidewalk repair program hits hurdles, set to resume in August
Friedl said he paid the city of Cleveland $780 over a year ago as part of the 50/50 sidewalk repair program.
“I’m just tired of waiting… waiting for answers,” he said earlier. “I don’t think it’s fair.”
Keshia Chambers, assistant mayor for capital projects in the City of Cleveland’s Office, said the reason for the delays was that there were not enough workers available to complete the projects.
This year, a tender process was launched again for local contractors and three were selected. The city’s road construction department is also working on repairs.
In addition, the city previously stated that items associated with the 50/50 program were significantly more expensive than in previous years, driving the price to a level that was unaffordable for the city or its residents.
“Due to the increased workload, additional equipment had to be purchased and additional staff had to be hired – both of which have now been completed,” the city told News 5 in late July.
On Wednesday, Friedl’s sidewalk was finally smooth and safe to walk on.
“It looks much better than before, especially in front of my front door. When it snows, it’s pretty difficult to shovel snow there. Hopefully it will be better when it snows,” Friedl explained.
Chambers said the city has completed 71 sidewalk repairs through the program.
“We have about 35 on what we call the punch list where work has just been completed. We are just going through them and making sure the work is being done successfully and meets our requirements,” Chambers said.
At least 85 sidewalks still need to be completed, but Chambers estimates they will be finished in 30 days.
“We’re constantly evaluating the program and are actually looking at other ways to implement it right now, so we may be able to move a little faster — maybe adding other construction crews to our team so we can keep iterating through the work,” Chambers explained. “It’s just an iterative process where we continue to see what we get, what our constituents are telling us about the work, what the demand looks like and how we can continue to provide this program to our constituents.”
Chambers could not provide any information about what else the program entails beyond hiring more employees.
“I hope they get it done faster,” said Friedl.
If you are interested in participating in the 50/50 Sidewalk Repair Program, CLICK HERE for more information.
The Chamber advises new applicants that these pending projects must be completed first before more can be added to the list.
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