Colorado Springs has backlog of nearly 6,000 sidewalk repair requests, City Councilwoman reveals

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Under current staffing levels, it would take city crews between eight and ten years to respond to a backlog of nearly 6,000 requests to repair damaged sidewalks, according to City Councilwoman Nancy Henjum.

She revealed those numbers Tuesday night just before the Council's 5-4 vote to tentatively approve the proposed Amara annexation that would build thousands of homes during the next 25 years on the city's southeast side.

Henjum used the sidewalk repair backlog as an example of how far behind the city has fallen in meeting basic infrastructure needs -- and how much farther behind it can fall in a major annexation that would stretch the city's boundaries and further stress city services and emergency response times.

"What other challenges are we facing in supporting our infrastructure?" she asked. "The trend is moving in the wrong direction."

Henjum directed her question to Travis Easton, the mayor's deputy chief of staff who formerly served as the city's public works director.

"Growing backlog? Yes," he said. "In the city, large parts were developed decades ago and were never maintained. Deferred maintenance for decades. So, it'll take a while to dig out of that. We've been trending in the right direction over the past 5 to 10 years. But again, no doubt about it, decades of neglect and there's a lot of work to do."

It's unclear how many additional employees would need to be hired to significantly reduce the sidewalk repair backlog.

Easton added that the 2C expanded paving program has kept the city from falling even farther behind in its infrastructure needs, and has even repaired sidewalks in the process -- which is why officials are encouraging voters to renew the dedicated sales tax financing 2C in November.

KRDO 13's The Road Warrior spoke with several viewers Thursday who are among the many who have been waiting for sidewalk repairs -- and likely will have to wait even longer, given the backlog.

"They don't understand that we need this done now, and they need to hire now, and they need to worry about the future a little later," said Gwen Pool, who lives on the city's southeast side. "It's inexcusable and unacceptable."

Shelly Rogers lives near Red Mesa Drive on the city's south end, where many of the sidewalks are broken, cracked and crumbling.

"We thought about trying to repair it ourselves, but we figure we don't have the capability of doing that -- plus, I think it's the city's responsibility to make these sidewalks safe," she said.

KRDO 13's The Road Warrior reached out to Henjum and Easton to elaborate on the matter Wednesday but did not receive a response.

Public works isn't the only city department seeking more resources; during Tuesday's Council meeting, discussions among Council members and city staff indicated that even before the Amara proposal, police have emphasized the need for more resources that would include additional police substations amd related facilities.

The discussions also revealed that many employees in city departments are disappointed with the level of services being provided to citizens, and feel that each employee is doing the work of several people.

There's also uncertainty about whether the city's financial situation during the proposed Amara annexation period will allow hiring more personnel and increasing resources to improve the level of service and shorten emergency response times.