Resident Wants Princeton to Change Sidewalk Repair Assessments

Before Tuesday’s storm hit, Barbara Prince walked along the sidewalk that wraps around her Magnolia Lane property in Princeton Township, picking up stray branches downed by the wind.

In the winter, she makes sure the sidewalk is free of snow and ice.

Prince and her husband have been doing this for 30 years and it’s a responsibility they take seriously, as students use the sidewalk to walk to and from nearby Littlebrook Elementary School.

But what Prince doesn’t understand is why the cost of the sidewalk repair falls only to homeowners whose property abuts the sidewalk. Residents on both sides of the street use the sidewalk, she said.

She wants Township officials to change its ordinance so that homeowners on both sides of the street are responsible for repairs.

Prince recently received a bill for $714, the cost to replace several portions of broken sidewalk in front of her house.

“It’s not just that I’m paying $50 per square foot to repair it,” Prince recently told Township Committee. “I also have to make sure that I have sufficient liability insurance on my property. I have to pay for stone removal, I have to make sure that all of that is well maintained. And all of that is an undue burden. And I’d like for you to reconsider a fair disbursement of costs.”

Prince, and other Township residents who have sidewalks adjacent to their property, only pay 50 percent of sidewalk repairs (a percentage that has been lowered by Township officials over the years): the rest is split amongst all Township residents. And homeowners can spread the cost over 10 years.

But Prince says it’s not just the sidewalk repairs: there are also sewer rate increases and less state funding for Princeton Public Schools which has led to an upcoming $10.9 million bond referendum for needed school building repairs. Prince is president of the Princeton Education Foundation, which recently donated $113,000 to the public schools.

“It’s sort of one thing on top of another and I don’t know that as a town we’re spending money too wisely,” Prince said, noting the Belgian block curbing a few streets away and seemingly unnecessary roundabouts on Hodge Road in Princeton Borough (note: Borough repair costs are not shared by Township residents).

The issue seems to be moot for new sidewalks installed in the Township, officials say. In those cases, residents are advised that sidewalks will be built on both sides of the street. Neighbors can then confer and if they decide to build only one sidewalk, they choose which side and split the costs.  

“It’s been successful,” Township Engineer Robert Kiser said of the process. “Each project in which we’ve proposed two sidewalks, sidewalks have been built and constructed on one side of the road.”

He said the Township does not have the legal authority to assess for sidewalk repairs on the other side of the street. The reason it works for new sidewalks is that residents see the financial advantage in only having to build and maintain a sidewalk on one side of the street.

“Without that, there’s really no incentive for neighbors to work together,” Kiser said.

There is currently about 50 miles of sidewalk throughout Princeton Township and sidewalks typically last about 50 years, Kiser said.

In response to Prince’s concern, Township Committee Member Sue Nemeth suggested officials could introduce a new ordinance to change the method by which sidewalk repairs are assessed.

Township Mayor Chad Goerner said it is something officials will want to consider post-consolidation.

“Maybe this is something the new governing body should consider, but this is where we are today,” Goerner said. 

Even though any decisions made after Jan. 1, 2013 will be too late for Prince’s sidewalk assessment, she hopes officials will consider her proposal, especially for those who struggle to afford to stay in Princeton.

“I think as a community, we should be significantly more sensitive to those of us who would like to age in place,” she said. 

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