SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego should spend more money on fixing its sidewalks, a new county grand jury report says. It also recommends the city focus on its sidewalks like it focuses on its streets, with regular assessments every few years.
The last — and only — time the city did a comprehensive assessment on San Diego's 4,500 miles of sidewalks was about a decade ago, according to this report. It also recommends more be spent on repairs.
"I would say it is definitely not the best," said Pacific Beach resident Brandon Sussman. He adds the sidewalks in his neighborhood require a little more attention, especially the ruptures in the pavement that make skating a dangerous activity.
"I usually skateboard down to the beach to go surfing and you can barely go 10 feet and then you hit another speed bump, it knocks you off your board," he said. "So you really got to be careful."
According to the report, sidewalk repairs are estimated at $104 million over the next five years, with a funding gap of $88 million.
The report also finds underfunding sidewalk maintenance in the past has led to annual injury lawsuit payouts of nearly $2.5 million from 2015 to 2021.
Pacific Beach resident Alan Cohen says he has fallen victim to damaged sidewalks in his neighborhood while out walking.
"I went down," he told CBS 8. "I was hurt pretty bad, and it was no more than a month later, my brother did the same thing."
The report points out that — under state law — home owners are responsible for sidewalk repairs adjacent to their property. It's something many home owners take issue with.
"Just think that it is here for the public," Cohen added. "I think it should be if the city takes care of the roads, then they should take care of the sidewalks too."
However, the grand jury also clarified that while cities are generally not responsible for maintaining sidewalks abutting private property, they are generally held liable for any injuries caused by damaged sidewalks. This makes the case that it's in the city's best interest to assess sidewalks more often and allocate more funding to repairs.
"At least that's a step," Cohen said of the report. "I just think there's a lot more that needs to be done."
The City of San Diego now has 90 days to officially respond to this grand jury report.
Also, the city has launched a "Safe Sidewalks" program to help streamline the permitting process for homeowners completing sidewalk repairs. For more information, click here.
WATCH RELATED: City of San Diego investing in sidewalk repairs with Safe Sidewalk Program