Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
Sidewalks are a vital part of the city of Eugene’s public transportation network, especially for residents who don’t drive. When these sidewalks fail, residents don’t have a quick and easy backup like drivers do.
Take a walk around almost any Eugene neighborhood and you’ll find them: sidewalk panels buckled by tree roots, cracked slabs tilting at angles that catch a toe or a wheel, stretches so deteriorated that people step into the street to avoid them. For many of us, it’s a nuisance. For a neighbor using a wheelchair, a walker or a cane, it can mean being cut off from their own community.
The good news? The city of Eugene is starting to move. The question is whether community momentum will help turn early progress into lasting change.
Sidewalks aren’t amenities. They’re infrastructure, part of our public transportation network, especially for the roughly 30% of Eugene residents who don’t drive. That includes seniors, people with disabilities, children and anyone who relies on walking or rolling to reach work, school, medical appointments or the grocery store. When sidewalks fail, these residents don’t have a quick and easy backup route the way a driver does.
The failures aren’t spread evenly, either. Historically underserved neighborhoods tend to have worse sidewalk conditions. Many residents in those areas can’t afford the repair costs, which can run from roughly $1,600 through a city program to $4,000 or more through a private contractor, for just three to five panels. That’s a real hardship for a lot of families.
The city of Eugene reports that 2025 was the most successful year for sidewalk projects since 2020. That’s worth celebrating. Using voter-approved 2022 Street Bond funds, the city built new sidewalks in several areas last year, including connections along Highway 99 and on Bertelsen Road, and has more infill projects planned for 2026 on Bethel Drive, Maxwell Road and Prairie Road.
On repairs, the numbers tell an encouraging story. In 2023, the city coordinated just four sidewalk repairs with property owners. By 2024 that rose to 23. In 2025 it jumped to 92, including 21 lower-cost repairs through a new Sidewalk Repair Pilot program that connects property owners with concrete crews already working nearby on paving projects. The city also updated 173 curb ramps and 25 traffic signals to meet ADA accessibility standards last year.
These are real gains, and the people at the city working on this deserve credit for making them happen under tight budget conditions. Even so, the city is candid about the underlying challenge. Eugene City Code places responsibility for sidewalk maintenance on adjacent property owners, meaning the public good of a connected sidewalk network is fragmented across thousands of private parcels, with wildly uneven results. The city acknowledges this has “led to many sidewalk quality issues” and that changing who pays for repairs is “a long-term conversation with no easy answers.”
Going from four repairs to 92 in two years is encouraging. But it also illustrates how deep the backlog runs. A proactive citywide maintenance system, rather than a complaint-driven property-by-property patchwork, is what will ultimately keep pace with aging infrastructure and root damage from our beloved street trees.
Other cities have found ways to do this. Corvallis funds ongoing sidewalk maintenance through a shared fee of about $2.40 per month per property. Denver inspects and repairs sidewalks on a rolling neighborhood schedule. These are practical approaches that keep sidewalks functional and equitable over the long term.
Community United to Repair our Broken Sidewalks, known as CURBS, is a volunteer group of Eugene residents that has been working on this issue for about two years, supported by Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation. We’ve met with the mayor, city councilors and staff, and we’re encouraged by the engagement we’ve found. The city is moving in the right direction. Our role is to help make sure that momentum continues and grows into the systemic solution our community needs.
The most important thing you can do right now is complete the CURBS sidewalk survey by May 30. The more responses we gather, the clearer the picture we can show city leaders of how broadly this issue affects Eugene residents, and how much our community wants a fair, lasting fix.
If you’ve ever caught your foot on a broken panel, watched a neighbor navigate around an impassable stretch or wondered why some blocks look fine while others are a hazard, your experience matters. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and share it with someone you know.
The city is heading in the right direction. Let’s help them keep going. To report a damaged sidewalk, use the city’s maintenance request form or call 541-682-4800.
