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Residents urge fixes to uneven sidewalks and low lighting on Murphy Road after injurious fall
Summary
Residents told the council that uneven sidewalks, low street lamps and hanging wires near Ridgeview and Sunset force a neighbor in a wheelchair to cross at unsafe locations; one commenter said she fell and broke her elbow and asked the city to prioritize repairs and code enforcement.
At the March 17 Murphy City Council meeting, resident Joanna Alviso described a dangerous stretch of sidewalks along Murphy Road near Ridgeview and Sunset and urged the council to act. "I went around it, tried to come back and fell and broke my elbow," Alviso said, and she and neighbors provided photos to illustrate gaps and uneven slabs that force some pedestrians into the roadway.
A neighbor told the council that the condition forces a local resident who uses a wheelchair to cross the street away from marked crossings and that low street lamps and loose wiring make walking and bicycling hazardous. Council member Andrew Chase said the problem appears to stem from low‑bid, substandard concrete work and called for improved construction standards and stronger code enforcement in neighborhoods such as Travis Estates.
Council members asked staff to follow up: city staff later told the council that the annual sidewalk program contract is scheduled for an April 21 agenda and that construction would likely begin in May. The City Manager and Public Works director were asked to post the sidewalk prioritization list online and to provide a more comprehensive update at the April meeting.
The public comment and council discussion highlighted both immediate safety concerns and longer‑term procurement and enforcement questions the council plans to address before awarding the next annual sidewalk contract.
