HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County commissioners voted 6-1 Wednesday to approve $20 million to help fix cracked and lifted sidewalks in the area, with many posing safety hazards in neighborhoods.
The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan Act. "The funds will be used to make repairs to existing sidewalks across Hillsborough County," the meeting's agenda said.
The county administrator will have 90 days following approval to bring a proposed project list back to commissioners for consideration, according to the agenda.
Only one commissioner voted against sidewalk funding, Commissioner Kimberly Overman. Prior to the vote, Overman said she would have liked to see that money go towards addressing the affordable housing crisis.
The funding is roughly one-third of the $63 million dollars the county received through the American Rescue Plan.
The funding would be added to an amended budget that would begin during the fiscal year 2022.
Last week, 10 Tampa Bay's Jenny Dean spoke with county leaders who said there are more than 2,400 open requests for sidewalk repairs that date back more than 10 years, affecting about 900 neighborhoods across the county. The county owns and maintains more than 3,000 miles of sidewalks.
Hillsborough County Director of Engineering and Operations Josh Bellotti told 10 Tampa Bay funding and resources limited the county from keeping up with requests. The county said it can currently do major repairs in only about 15 neighborhoods each year.
Bellotti says the county does respond quickly to all requests. "Crews can come out and they can perform sidewalk grinding where we have transitions that are uneven to grind down the concrete and help smooth that out and reduce trip and fall hazards," he said. "And then on any other areas that are more than they can repair, we'll put down a high visibility reflective tape."