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Originally Posted by Stormer
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I’ve mentioned before that I’d love to see a model where downtown property owners can buy (long term lease) the sidewalk adjacent to their buildings from the City (with condition that public access be maintained, obviously). Many other cities either sell/lease sidewalks to property owners & leave it to the private owners to maintain the sidewalks (including replacement when it comes to that...) often, it seems owners view this as a branding opportunity... especially when building new towers/structures.
The sidewalks downtown are in brutal shape... I can’t believe the City’s made no effort (other than SW corner of 12th & Hamilton a few year back) to address any downtown sidewalks in 7-8years. They are uniformly an obstacle course of tripping hazards - loose paving stones, large chunks of concrete, random large holes, bolts sticking out, metal edging protruding at tire-slashing angles, metal plates with curled edges, etc. Since the City seems to have given up, why not offer them up to DT businesses... they have a vested interest in seeing these surfaces maintained. Restaurants might be more willing to invest in patio like Ohans & Cap, if they had more control/ownership over the sidewalk.