It will cost the Township of Langley $250,000 to fix four sidewalks that have gone without proper maintenance because of budget-cutting, a report to council estimates.
The July 22 memo from engineering operations manager Terry Veer says tree roots are creating uneven and potentially hazardous sidewalks in the 21900 block of 48 Avenue, 208 Street from 90 to 93 Avenue, 272 Street from 28 to 29 Avenue and Fraser Highway from 264 to 265 Street.
That represents about 1.1 kilometres of sidewalk that needs work to eliminate “trip hazards and associated liabilities” the report states.
Veer says temporary repairs have been carried out using $50,000 from the existing road maintenance budget ,because council eliminated a $56,000-a-year sidewalk repair and maintenance fund in 2011.
That has meant the “deferral of other anticipated [road] projects,” the report says.
The repair to just one of the sidewalks on 48 Avenue cost $13,000, council was told.
More than just the four sidewalks are deteriorating, the report warned, saying the lack of funding “… has led to a decrease to the overall condition of our sidewalks and walkways and an ever increasing amount of defects are showing up on our sidewalks and walkways …”
In addition to the $250,000 to fix the four sidewalks, the Veer report also calls on council to restore the annual sidewalk maintenance budget and increase it to $75,000.
Council has voted to have the funding considered during the 2014 budget process.