To the editor: L.A.’s sidewalks are emblematic of chronic and pervasive government inattention paid to public safety. (“L.A.’s cracked, ruptured sidewalks are a scandal. Where is City Hall?” column, Aug. 17)
The 2015 Willits sidewalk settlement regarding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will never do what the city needs to do: Enforce the state law that requires owners to maintain sidewalks on their property, even though there is a public right-of-way over them.
Most cities hire part-time inspectors to look over sidewalks, mark problems and notify owners of a reasonable deadline for repairs. If the deadline passes, the city hires its own subcontractors to do the repairs and puts a lien on the property title.
It was always this way until the 1970s, when the city began to curtail services, and the long decline in L.A.’s quality of life began.
Why must we wait for the Olympics to be on our doorstep to do what needs to be done routinely for residents as well as tourists?
Richard Stanley, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The appalling state of the sidewalks in Los Angeles is a regular joke of citizens everywhere.
I sent my own sidewalk repair request in March 2022, complete with pictures of the sidewalk outside my North Hollywood apartment raised almost two feet. The city responded in October 2022 saying that it closed the inquiry and that it would undertake a “small asphalt repair.”
I live there another year, and the sidewalk was never repaired.
This failure to provide passable sidewalks is a failure of massive proportions. Clearly the city finds it cheaper to settle injury cases than invest in an overhaul of its literally broken infrastructure.
I am a Los Angeles native (a rare bird these days), and it is clear that our leaders talk a big game, but sit in their ivory tower and don’t do much. Unfortunately, big companies pay the bills, and poverty, inflation, homelessness and corruption run rampant.
Heather Benton, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I have a dead tree in front of my house that’s creating a huge bump on the sidewalk. I called the city to get it removed. A tree surgeon it sent out confirmed that the tree was dead.
Then the city put me on a list for tree removal. It’s been more than five years, and I haven’t heard anything else.
When some of the tree branches fell and blocked the street, the city sent people out to clean it up. I told them we asked for the city to remove the dead tree. One of the guys said he’d “check on that.”
Andrew Saidi, Los Angeles
