Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Why hasn't the sidewalk along the Corner Bar been fixed?"

Posted: Tue, Jul 17, 2018 2:52 PM

(Janet e-mails Mr. Answer Person: "The sidewalk on the west side of State Street along the Corner Bar is in particularly bad shape with many cracks, uneven sections and poorly done patches. It's hazardous. And just about the worst sidewalk I've walked in Decorah. As a senior who walks this way almost every day to get to Water Street, I'd like to know why it hasn't been fixed and what plans are to get it repaired correctly. Decorah likes to advertise as a walkable community but this particular block right off of our shopping district and a very busy grocery store doesn't make that ring true."):

Mr. Answer Person says: "Most of the headlines about sidewalks have involved sidewalks in the Bruening Addition. That means sidewalks downtown have stayed out of the limelight. But the same decision to require sidewalks in the Bruening Addition affected sidewalks downtown, as well.

City Administrator Chad Bird says 63 letters were sent out last summer to property owners in the central part of the city, telling them to fix their sidewalks. Bird says about half of the property owners have made the fixes, while the other half are asking the Planning & Zoning Commission to grant them waivers.

That's a long process which involves a hearing before the Planning & Zoning Commission, which has been busy with higher profile tasks recently. But Bird says the process is continuing, so sidewalk issues are gradually being worked on by the city.