Public Sidewalk Maintenance

Several times a week, our office receives a phone call asking, “Who is responsible for the city sidewalk?” Most commonly referred to as the public sidewalk, this walkway is common in most residential areas and is technically part of the public right-of-way. The answer to the question (for most homeowners) is not what they’d like to hear.  In the vast majority of cases, fixing a sunken or damaged public sidewalk is not the city’s responsibility. The majority of public sidewalk issues stem from the trees that the city plants alongside the tree lawn.  Trees along the sidewalk do provide our older suburbs with a lot of charm and much-appreciated shade. Trees can also cause heaving and trip hazards in the public sidewalk, which unfortunately lands on the homeowners’ shoulders. 

Public Sidewalk Programs

Some municipalities around Cleveland have sidewalk programs where the city may pay a small portion of the total cost of the repair. These programs are something that changes from year to year, and it would be best to contact your service department for specific questions regarding your city’s policy. 

Sidewalk Repair

Greene Concrete Leveling is one of the only leveling companies that manually lower concrete and removes the tree roots that cause the heaving. We will remove the sidewalk block, cut the tree roots out from under the block, and put the block back into place. In some cases, the heaving is minor enough that the blocks can be raised over the roots to eliminate trip hazards. This process is often cheaper than root removal. Greene Concrete Leveling will look at the situation and quote the process that will best serve the individual customer. Which could mean either sidewalk repair or replacing the block entirely.

Common Questions

Another question that is commonly asked, “Does cutting the root cause damage to the tree?” Over our 40+ years in business, we have removed tens of thousands of roots from under sidewalk/walkway blocks and even driveway blocks. We have never been called back with a complaint that the tree has suffered any ill-effects. 

Repair or Replace

Another common question is whether replacing the concrete be a more permanent fix than leveling the concrete? New concrete can also settle, and the contractor who poured the new concrete usually does not have any warranty; however, as most levelers do have a warranty against settling. Greene Concrete Leveling has one of the most extended warranties in the business, and we will match any competitors’ warranty work for word. Our quotes are always free, so call today!