Kalamazoo Township resident Jim Ferner is under doctor’s orders to get more exercise. He doesn’t own a car, so for him, that means walking. But he says the condition of the sidewalks makes using them difficult and sometimes even dangerous.
Walking around his Northwood neighborhood last summer, 77-year-old Ferner pointed to squares heaved up by tree roots and a few places where the sidewalk does not go all the way to the street.
“When you combine that with sidewalks endings a half a block from the house, with the traffic on the streets, and having 25 percent compliance in the wintertime with shoveling, there's plenty of days where you don't feel safe to go out and walk,” said Ferner.
Legally, property owners in Kalamazoo Township must clear snow and ice from their sidewalks. But that’s not all. Technically, larger, more expensive repairs fall to property owners as well. This is common in cities and townships throughout the country.
Ferner doesn't see either rule being enforced in his own neighborhood. He’d like to see the township remind people to clear snow and ice. But he’s not suggesting homeowners get fined for failing to make repairs. Presumably, lots of people cannot afford to make them. Instead, Ferner says, local governments should pay for sidewalks the same way they fund things like the police, the fire department, and the sewer system.
“Sidewalks should be a community resource, a responsibility of the township,” said Ferner. “Otherwise, as you can see, they get neglected. They don't get done.”
Despite its laws treating sidewalks as private property, to some degree the township does take on sidewalk repair. It has a “non-motorized transportation plan” that identifies problem areas. According to Township Manager Dexter Mitchell, it spends about $50,000 a year to fix those areas.
“As funding becomes available, we're going to fix it,” said Mitchell. “How do we find out what the priorities are? The hazards jump up on the priority list.”
Mitchell added that $1 million of the township’s $10 million road bond in 2015 went toward projects to improve non-motorized transportation. This included 2.8 miles of new sidewalk and 100 spot repairs. The township also reimburses residents up to $500 for fixing their own sidewalks. Mitchell said a bigger push for sidewalk repair would mean raising taxes.
“Even if you have a sidewalk in your front yard, I still have to tax you to cover the bill for everybody else,” he said. “Do you want that? And we've had a loud amount, a large and loud amount, of residents who go, 'absolutely not.'”
Since then the township has placed Mitchell on leave pending a Michigan State Police investigation, the details of which are not clear.
In 2019 Ferner hoped he could compel more action on sidewalks by appealing to the federal government. After all, the Americans with Disabilities Act is supposed to ensure accessibility in public places. The Department of Justice did investigate a complaint Ferner filed a couple years ago, but after several meetings with the township, the DOJ dropped the case. It found the township was following ADA guidelines.
Paul Ecklund is the ADA specialist at Disability Network Southwest Michigan. He says the 1990 law states that when it comes to older sidewalks, city governments have to show they are making a “good faith effort” to make them accessible.
“I think they're doing what they can right now with what they've got,” said Ecklund. “But to be able to do more, they're going to have to have more public input saying, we need this and we're willing to pay for it.”
According the latest available audit, the township had a budget surplus of almost $3 million in 2021. This money could, in theory, be used for sidewalks. But the township says these funds are needed for emergencies like storm cleanup, and other planned projects, like sewer improvements.
Ferner’s neighbor, David Caswell, agrees that more township funds should go toward the sidewalks. Caswell said he’s been disabled for eleven years due to a stroke. He added that he’s had several falls in his motorized wheelchair due to broken or non-existent sidewalks.
He said he knows the township can’t change the sidewalks overnight.
“I don’t want all their money,” said Caswell. “But just a little improvement on a yearly basis on the worst of the worst areas. You know, you might have a mile with one terrible area in it, and so, if you just fix that one, it makes life easier. Definitely easier.”
And Ferner hasn’t given up on forcing the township to take more action on sidewalks. He filed a new Department of Justice complaint against the township last month. And last week, the DOJ told Ferner it will open a new investigation into his claim that the township has violated the ADA.
