Livermore plans $2.5M project to fix all the city's sidewalks
Livermore residents have had a rocky relationship with the sidewalks around town for years, and now city leaders are hoping a new project will smooth things over. This week the city council approved a $2.5 million project to slice and grind the sidewalks smooth across the entire city.
"I am a runner. I like to do the Livermore half, so I have ran this area actually quite a bit. So, I would notice that, but I notice it way more now with the stroller," said Livermore resident Jessica Di Dio. She has a 4-month-old son and said the sidewalks in town can be difficult to navigate with a stroller.
"We need to go into the street because that's sometimes a better option than going up and over some of the cracks," she said.
That's why the city has decided to take on a $2.5 million project to grind down or slice more than 15,000 defects across the city. Most are caused by tree roots pushing the concrete sidewalk out of place.
"This really does work to improve the quality of life in all of our neighborhoods," said Livermore Mayor John Marchand.
He said the city was going to spend almost $1 million to spot-correct areas around the city, but city staffers realized the city could do all the sidewalks for almost the same price. The city decided to leverage funds from Measure BB sales taxes and vehicle registration fees.
"If we could stage in one neighborhood and get everything done there and then stage another region of the city and get everything done there, we could cut the costs dramatically," says Marchand.
There is a California state law that's been on the books since the 1940s that says property owners are responsible for maintaining sidewalks adjacent to their lots. The city says this project is a one-time reset to help everyone. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough to help Dave Hopkins who had issues with the sidewalk in front of his property a few years ago.
"We ended up putting in, I don't know, six or eight new sections of sidewalk, tearing out the old sidewalk and putting it in. It was about $10,0000. It wasn't cheap," says Hopkins.
Des spending his own money on repairs, he says he's glad the city is stepping up to fix the rest.
"I think I'm not worried about having to pay it. I think that's my own personal responsibility as I've found out. Um, and I'm really happy that the city's doing projects like this," he says.
Concrete crews are starting in the downtown area and should be done in the next few weeks. Then they will move into the neighborhoods one area at a time. The entire project should be done in the summer of 2027.
