Staff seeks council direction to expand Fredericksburg sidewalk plan; staff estimates about $24 million to add arterials and collectors

City staff asked the Fredericksburg City Council for direction on updates to the city’s 2015 sidewalk plan and accompanying ordinance, presenting construction progress, comparative municipal approaches and potential changes that would expand sidewalk requirements to all arterial and collector streets and commercial zones.

Staff said the city currently has just over 30,000 linear feet (about 26 miles) of sidewalk identified on the plan and assigned that asset a replacement value of about $15.5 million using the city's unit price. According to staff, roughly 103,714 feet of sidewalk remain under the adopted 2015 plan; staff reported a unit construction cost of about $115 per linear foot. If the plan were expanded to require sidewalks on both sides of all arterials and collectors, staff estimated the remaining construction obligation would increase to a figure that planners described in discussion as approximately $24 million.

Staff reviewed funding and delivery options, including an application to TxDOT’s Transportation Alternatives set-aside program (preliminary application due Feb. 21), and described operational steps such as using an escrow option for undeveloped lots, pursuing rehabilitation grants for problem blocks, and contracting for trip-hazard shaving rather than full replacement where appropriate. Staff said current budget funding for sidewalks is $150,000 annually and that council typically has funded under $250,000 in recent years; staff also described ongoing projects with contractor Myers Concrete and a new effort by a trip-hazard contractor (Precision City Sidewalks).

Council discussed tradeoffs between requiring sidewalks on every frontage versus strategically connecting neighborhoods to collectors and schools, maintenance responsibilities if sidewalks become city assets, and design constraints where utilities or narrow rights-of-way exist. Staff asked for council direction on ordinance changes to give staff the authority and “teeth” to require sidewalks in more locations beyond the existing map-based approach. No ordinance was adopted; staff requested feedback and will return with proposed ordinance language if directed.