Sidewalks
Brunswick has a sidewalk problem, and everyone knows it.
Two sidewalk problems, in fact: poorly-maintained existing sidewalks and simply not enough sidewalks. These will be a big challenge to tackle, but it’s time to get cracking.
New Sidewalks
Many of Brunswick’s roads are worn, but they’re kept serviceable. Brunswick’s sidewalks are not.
That’s because until recently our hard-working Public Works Department hasn’t been allowed to get after fixing them.
There’s a legal aspect to it. Brunswick has two conflicting ordinances on sidewalks. One says that homeowners have “the duty and obligation” to maintain the sidewalk in front of their property “in such a condition as to be safe for public use.” The other states that “the Mayor and Council shall have charge of all the sidewalks in the City” and “may do whatever is deemed necessary to establish, operate, maintain and protect” them.
Underneath that, there’s the question of who ought to be fixing and replacing sidewalks. For years, the City put that burden on homeowners. It’s actually a common practice in Maryland—Frederick does it, too. But it doesn’t make sense, and it doesn’t work.
Regular people don’t have the expertise or the money to dig up and replace sidewalk slabs.
Everyone uses sidewalks. They’re a public good and they’re essential to a town. Ordinary citizens have a duty not to pile them up with junk or damage them beyond normal wear and tear, and they should shovel them when it snows. But regular people don’t usually have the expertise or the money to dig up and replace sidewalk slabs.
The Mayor and Council have started to recognize this and move in the right direction. They’re in the process of launching an effort to have the City identify and replace the most worn-down sidewalks. If elected, I’ll keep this ball rolling and push it farther.
Walkersville’s council voted last year to have the town take full responsibility for what we all think of as sidewalk maintenance: tearing up broken concrete and putting new slabs down. Brunswick should clarify its ordinances to do the same.
More Sidewalks
It’s not enough to fix Brunswick’s existing sidewalks. We need more of them.
Big parts of town don’t have sidewalks at all, and those parts happen to be near Brunswick’s schools and some of its playgrounds—in other words, exactly where kids are walking around.
The biggest gaps are in the residential northern part of town: most of the area between 2nd Ave and 9th Ave doesn’t have continuous sidewalks. It’s to such an extent that you can’t take your kids to the 2nd Ave playground if you live on 2nd Avenue without walking in the street.
That area also happens to be the part of town that’s within walking distance from the middle school and high school. I live on 5th Ave, and every day I see kids walking to and from school in the street.
It’s to such an extent that you can’t take your kids to the 2nd Ave playground if you live on 2nd Avenue without walking in the street.
There’s a smaller version of the same problem in the West End. Near the elementary school, most of C Street and the upper part of Dayton Ave don’t have sidewalks. The section of Brunswick Street near the West End playground doesn’t have them, either.
This problem has been around for a long time. We have a chance now to square it away. The Brunswick Forward comprehensive plan envisions adding new sidewalks over the next several years. It will be one of my top three priorities to make sure we do it, in the places that need it the most.