HomeMy WebLinkAboutSidewalk Inspection & Maintenance Policy 8-2013CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
POLICY AND PROCEDURE
Number:
Authority: David Liu, Public works Director/city Engineer°,
Effective: August 15, 2013
Revised:
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of inspecting the City's sidewalks is to report and schedule repairs for
all hazardous conditions in order to minimize the possibility of injury to residents and
visitors of the City. The Sidewalk Inspection and Maintenance Program provides
standard instructions for conducting sidewalk inspections and management of the
records. Sidewalk inspections, in accordance with this program, should be done in
conjunction with the City's residential slurry seal area maintenance and along arterial
zones as needed.
II. BACKGROUND
A. A successful Sidewalk Inspection and Maintenance Program ensures that
sidewalks serve as the streets and highways for the pedestrians that travel through
our community. This policy implements an effective program for our sidewalks to
limit the harm to pedestrians and the liability to the City.
B. The Sidewalk Inspection and Maintenance Program is intended to prevent trip. and
fall incidents due to the deterioration of aging sidewalks, expansion of roots, and
ground settlements. Historically the courts have ruled that cities have a duty to the
public to maintain the sidewalks and eliminate any hazardous conditions.
C. An average vertical displacement between sidewalk abutments that is used to
evaluate a "trivial defect" is 3/4 inch. Vertical displacements less than 3/4 inch
should not be excused for non -hazardous situations. All hazards must be
evaluated whether the hazards are critical or not. For example, a half -inch
displacement could be hazardous in an area near a retirement home.
D. One of the difficulties a city has is to evaluate and prioritize sidewalk repairs. The
location of the hazard is important. It is of great benefit to eliminate hazards on
high volume sidewalks. This may lead to a decision to eliminate a "trivial defect"
on a heavily used sidewalk in addition to more substantial defects. However, due
i
to limits in the City's maintenance budget, "trivial defects" should be noted and
monitored prior to initiation of permanent repairs.
E. A city has to have an effective process in which the city eliminates hazards. This
process reduces the liability of the city. When a repair needs to be made,
consideration regarding cost, time, severity, and location history need to be taken
into account.
III. SIDEWALK HAZARDS
A. All inspections shall document the following situations:
1. Vertical displacements that exceed 3/4 inch should be documented and
scheduled for repair. Any displacement less than 3/4 inch should be noted and
evaluated for possible hazards.
2. For each location where a sidewalk deficiency is noted, provide a rating on the
deviation from 1 to 4. The rating is as follows:
1 = displacement is less than 3/4 inch
2 = displacement is between 3/4 inch and 1 1/4 inches
3 = displacement is more than 1 1/4 inches
4 = deficiency is in the vicinity of a sensitive location (i.e. adjacent to
a school, senior housing, high pedestrian area, etc). The deficiency rating of 4
could be given no mater the amount of displacement. It places priority onto the
location needing repair due to the pedestrian activity at the site.
3. Sidewalks with slopes that exceed a 5 : 1 ratio should be documented and
scheduled for repair.
4. Cracks that have a gap of half an inch should be filled.
5. Holes that are half an inch or greater in depth and in diameter should be filled.
6. Check for any damage around traffic signals, utility poles, ground utility boxes,
street lights and regulatory sign posts.
7. Any sidewalk damage around a construction site with heavy equipment should
be noted; the construction company can be held responsible.
B. Any hazards or sidewalk damage that may not meet requirements for repair should
be noted for future inspections.
IV. REPAIR SOLUTIONS
A. Grind down displacement if less than 3/4". If displacement is greater than 3/4",
apply appropriate materials, grind, or remove and replace (Exhibit 1, figure 1).
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B. When the sidewalk is buckled and the ratio is greater than 5:1, use appropriate
materials to repair sidewalk with a ratio of 6 : 1 (Exhibit 1, figure 2).
C.
Cracks and holes should be filled with
appropriate materials
(Exhibit 1, figure 3).
D.
If the buckled sidewalk has numerous
large cracks, remove
and replace concrete.
E. If the sidewalk is buckled due to tree roots, remove the root and replace the
sidewalk.
F. If the
sidewalk
is displaced by tree
roots,
repair
with
appropriate materials and
slope
with 6 : 1
ratio (Exhibit 1, figure
4), or
remove
and
replace concrete.
G. Worn out asphalt concrete patches should be repatched or evaluated for removal
and replacement (Exhibit 1, figure 5).
H. Repaired
patches that
continue
to have
cracks and displacements may have to be
removed
and replaced
(Exhibit
1,
figure
5).
V. DATA COLLECTION
A. Field notes should be dated and titled with the name of the person inspecting the
sidewalk (Exhibit 2).
B. Streets should be assigned by Slurry Seal Area and by order of inspection.
C. Description of the damage should be noted with. a possible suggestion of how to
repair the damage.
D. Any minimal damage that may be a future hazard should be noted in the report for
future observations.
E. An address can be used to identify a location of a sidewalk hazard. If an address
is not found, measure the distance from the end of curb return (ECR) to the
location of sidewalk hazard.
F. Work one side of the street and then complete the opposite side. Since sidewalks
are located on both sides of the street, specify which side of the street the hazard
is located.
G. Every street should have an inspection date. If the street segment does not have
any hazardous conditions, note the date of the inspection and write "No hazards
found on sidewalks."
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H. In some cases locations (especially on commercial streets), the boundary of the
public right-of-way is not obvious. Before starting inspections on a commercial
sidewalk, verify which portion of the sidewalk is under jurisdiction of the City.
VI. DATA ENTRY
A. The collected data is stored in a database under filename "Sidewalk Program".
B. The table used always includes sections for:
1. Street Name
2, Slurry Area / Arterial Zone
3. Date of Inspection
4. Repairs Needed
5. Date of Completion
6. Repairs Made. (Exhibit 2)
VII. INSPECTION
A. Inspect small areas and turn in the Inspection Report (Exhibit 2) frequently in order
to initiate work on the repair areas as they are identified and contingent upon
available funds.
B. The final typed Inspection Report should have a date of inspection and completion.
A copy should be submitted to the City Engineer and the Street Maintenance
Superintendent (1 copy per person). It is of great importance to keep accurate
records of these dates. The Street Maintenance Superintendent will check the
report and prepare a Service Request. When Inspection Reports are returned with
the repair data, enter all repairs made. The repair data includes the dates and
types of repairs performed.
C. Hard copies of the Inspection Report and the Inspection Report with repair Data
should be filed in the Public Works central files. Each He folder should be dated
and include the Slurry Seal Area.
VIII. RECORDING REPAIRS
A. When Inspection Reports are returned enter all completed repairs into the
database.
B. The date and description of the repair should also be entered.
C. Once all completed repairs are made, save the Final Inspection Report file.
D. A hard copy should be put in the folder that includes the original hand written
Inspection Reports.
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