Sunday’s Letters to the Editor
Published: Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 14, 2012 at 12:55 p.m.
EDITOR: I applaud the heroic efforts of Phillip Grazide (”
Seeking safe sidewalks,” Aug. 28). Dangerous and hazardous sidewalk conditions are not only a danger and obstacle to those citizens who are covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act but anyone who, as in Ben Stanley’s case, broke his nose and mashed his teeth when he stepped into a depression in the sidewalk.
The city of Santa Rosa should be ashamed to outright oppose Assembly Bill 2231, which would shift the burden of paying for sidewalk replacement and maintenance from adjacent property owners to the city and county. More than 100 sidewalk injury accidents and incidents have occurred this year alone. Unfortunately, none of these claims was paid because the city’s ordinance places the liability squarely on the adjacent property owners. Therefore, if the adjacent property owners don’t have any liability insurance, the innocent injured party is without a remedy.
Perhaps only after the city is forced by yet another federal court order, as it was for $500,000 to upgrade its sidewalks, will the city begin to adequately light and maintain its streets and sidewalks. Isn’t it ironic that Santa Rosa’s slogan is, “a city designed for living.”
MICHAEL A. FIUMARA
