Gap Financing for Sidewalk Gaps

Sidewalks have been the topic of choice recently on Rural Resurrection. The first post in this mini-series was about sidewalk surveys, stressing the importance of knowing the extent and condition of your sidewalk infrastructure. The second post concentrated on prioritizing and putting a plan in place to make needed improvements. These two posts discussed steps that require a notable amount of effort, even before a single sidewalk panel is replaced. But putting forth that effort is relatively useless without a viable funding package attached to it.

There are a number of ways to obtain funds for the sidewalk improvements. Of course there’s the typical route of budgeting a certain amount each year towards sidewalk repair and improvements out of the general budget. There’s also the less popular method of installing new sidewalks and assessing the property owner for the improvements.

Another popular route that communities have turned in the past is Safe Routes to School. These Department of Transportation grants are an ideal way to obtain the funding needed. However, with the number of communities leaning on these funds increasing, the competition for the limited funding is tough. State DOTs are looking for more impactful programs rather than simple sidewalk construction.

As the obtaining funds through the aforementioned routes for the needed repairs and improvements may be tough. Utilizing more outside of the box methods may be the best route to improving the sidewalk system in the community.

Walk-a-thon

There’s also the often used fundraiser of a walk-a-thon. However, change it up with a twist. Find the toughest walking route from certain residences to a school in town. Not only are donations received for the walking conducted to raise the funds, there will be greater awareness to the issues at hand by those who walk the routes.

Partial Assessments

As noted earlier, assessments are not usually a popular to obtain the needed funding. However, Missoula, Montana has come up with a unique cost sharing idea that includes a partial assessment. Check it out in this CityLab article.

Get the School Involved

In most small communities schools (and especially PTAs) are often already highly skilled at fundraising. Teaming up on the common goal of pedestrian safety can net some good results.

Bid the Work with Nearby Project

If the community is planning repairs or resurfacing to the adjoining road, adding the sidewalk that parallels the street can provide a savings in the cost of the repairs. Conducting sidewalk improvements in the general vicinity of planned utility repairs is also an option. Often a couple panels get torn up during the utility repair work and they are typically replaced as part of a typical project. However, this is also a good time to look at the rest of the block and lump repairs/improvements for the block in with base project.

Neighborhood-Based Improvements

Funding can be raised through special improvement districts as well. A number of communities use business improvement districts to fund repairs and improvements to the public areas of downtowns, going well beyond just sidewalks. There’s also the possibility of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) that is usually more neighborhood-based.

Fill the Can

As a kid in southwest Iowa I frequented the golf course of the local country club. County clubs typically charge their members regular dues that help to maintain the facilities. However county clubs in rural areas are typically not able to levy dues that are significant enough to pay for new cart paths. The socio-economics of many rural areas do not support a dues structure that includes such expenses on a regular basis.

Hence, the country club would place a can on the mantle behind the bar with a sign on it requesting donations. It’s not a high yield format, but it helped offset some of the costs.

One unique idea is a campaign like Fill the Can conducted at local bars in conjunction with an effort to “Walk it Off”, encouraging patrons to walk home from the bar rather than drive. There may be some legal ramifications related to that idea. But it’s the type of outside-the-box thinking that is needed in towns where funding for the improvements is scarce.

Conclusion

These are but a few of the possibilities. Many times it will take a concerted effort from a number of funding streams. The work to get to the point of construction from conducting the initial sidewalk survey is a long and tough journey to take. But sidewalks are an important piece of a community’s infrastructure, one that cannot be overlooked.