During a continuous period of 40 years in the 20th century, Monroe constructed no new sidewalks. Here is my take on how this could have happened from living here for 50-plus years, including six years on the Monroe City Council early in the last decade.
Early in my years here, I noticed bizarre gaps in the logic of the sidewalk grid. It turns out these gaps occur where property owners refused to permit sidewalks on their frontage and the city fathers acceded to many of these "refuseniks." What to do about the "sidewalk question" keeps turning up on the City's agenda. Legally, Monroe, like most cities, is entitled to put sidewalks on all streets as it sees fit, with the cost assessed to the adjacent property owner along with responsibility for maintenance, not the least of which is snow shoveling.
The nearest thing to a previous solution to the "sidewalk question" occurred in 1996 with a consultant's survey financed by a $10,000 grant from the state and $2,000 of city funds. The recommendation was for a 20-year period of construction to complete the sidewalk grid at a cost of about $200,000 annually. After a year or so, the program died of neglect - money was not appropriated. The inequity of who is assessed and who succeeds in refusing persists, with especial emphasis on a regrettable vote of the council to forgive the entire sidewalk and curb assessment when several blocks of 16th Avenue were rebuilt a few years ago (you might say in an irrational spasm of paroxysmal fairness).
Obviously, past sins cannot be retroactively corrected. The proposed transportation utility compares with the recent stormwater utility, which permits the City to comply with mandatory Department of Natural Resources regulations with greatly increased fairness in allocating who pays and less chance of suffering draconian penalties. According to the strict meaning of words, these new "utilities" are new tax revenue. However, in actuality, the same money would have to be spent from general funds, and with less assurance of fairness as indicated by the history described above.
Early in my years here, I noticed bizarre gaps in the logic of the sidewalk grid. It turns out these gaps occur where property owners refused to permit sidewalks on their frontage and the city fathers acceded to many of these "refuseniks." What to do about the "sidewalk question" keeps turning up on the City's agenda. Legally, Monroe, like most cities, is entitled to put sidewalks on all streets as it sees fit, with the cost assessed to the adjacent property owner along with responsibility for maintenance, not the least of which is snow shoveling.
The nearest thing to a previous solution to the "sidewalk question" occurred in 1996 with a consultant's survey financed by a $10,000 grant from the state and $2,000 of city funds. The recommendation was for a 20-year period of construction to complete the sidewalk grid at a cost of about $200,000 annually. After a year or so, the program died of neglect - money was not appropriated. The inequity of who is assessed and who succeeds in refusing persists, with especial emphasis on a regrettable vote of the council to forgive the entire sidewalk and curb assessment when several blocks of 16th Avenue were rebuilt a few years ago (you might say in an irrational spasm of paroxysmal fairness).
Obviously, past sins cannot be retroactively corrected. The proposed transportation utility compares with the recent stormwater utility, which permits the City to comply with mandatory Department of Natural Resources regulations with greatly increased fairness in allocating who pays and less chance of suffering draconian penalties. According to the strict meaning of words, these new "utilities" are new tax revenue. However, in actuality, the same money would have to be spent from general funds, and with less assurance of fairness as indicated by the history described above.
