"A matter of accessibility:" Council to vote on sidewalk repair plan
Mar. 7—CHEYENNE — The cracked, uneven sidewalks throughout downtown Cheyenne have come to the forefront of Cheyenne City Council discussions, with the Mayor's Council for People with Disabilities and Ward 1 Councilman Pete Laybourn pushing for changes in the name of accessibility.
With the burden of repair on downtown property owners — who also own the sidewalks, curbs and gutters — a number of downtown passageways have fallen into disrepair through the years.
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"There are several areas throughout downtown that are not pedestrian friendly necessarily, (and) that presents substantial tripping hazards, as well as pretty significant difficulties for people with disabilities to be able to maneuver safely," Downtown Development Authority Director Amber Ash said.
"It's really important, as we continue to grow downtown, that we have safe, accessible pathways to the businesses. If people aren't able to access them, they will choose to go elsewhere."
An ordinance slated for a final vote Monday would create a path forward to addressing the problem.
Right now, property owners in Cheyenne are responsible for repairs to their own sidewalks, curbs and gutters. The city does have the ability to complete any repairs itself, then place a lien on the property until the owners pay back the cost.
But in the months it took to draft this plan, Laybourn said he wanted to find a more amicable way to make downtown sidewalks less of a tripping hazard and barrier to those with disabilities. Under the ordinance that could be approved Monday, the city would pay for the curb and gutter repairs, and the property owner would pay for the sidewalk.
In cases where the property owner is disagreeable about paying for the improvements, the city could still take the route of placing a lien on the property and completing the repairs. Some members of the council expressed interest in seeing a similar initiative throughout the city, but ultimately agreed the uniqueness of the downtown area warranted this change now.
"This is going to really be the first step in dealing with our concrete problems throughout the city," Laybourn said, adding that he plans to continue his focus on improving the downtown area, as well.
In practice, the public works director or city engineer would consult with the city's ADA coordinator to identify areas of sidewalk "in such a state of disrepair and/or noncompliance with current ADA standards that it poses a public safety hazard or an obstruction to pedestrian mobility, respectively," the ordinance reads.
The property owner would then be notified and would work with city staff to complete the sidewalk, curb and gutter repairs at the same time, paying for only the portion of sidewalk. Each project has a $20,000 cap from the city and will be carried out by small contractors. For the initial improvements, $250,000 is available from fifth-penny sales tax overage funds.
Mayor's Council for People with Disabilities Chairwoman Patti Riesland, one of the drivers behind this ordinance, told the council just how hard it is for folks to get around.
The Mayor's Council executed an AARP walk audit of the downtown area and found a number of problematic stretches, mainly from 16th Street to 18th Street. The area of town they observed stretched from Warren to Pioneer avenues and from 16th to 24th streets.
"We found that our members, and also members of the public, had difficulty walking in those areas," Riesland said, noting the emotional toll created by inaccessible infrastructure for folks with disabilities.
Both the Mayor's Council and DDA have voiced their support for the ordinance due to the benefit it would have for downtown businesses and residents.
"For people with disabilities, this is a matter of accessibility, but it's also an economic issue, because people with disabilities have accountants downtown, they visit, they have lunch," Riesland said. "They do a lot of activities, but they're limited in terms of the areas that have, really, quite a bit of disrepair."
Margaret Austin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government reporter. She can be reached at maustin@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3152. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretMAustin.
