OLYMPIA, Wash. — Olympia is working to repair tens of thousands of defects in the city’s sidewalks.
“We’re an older city, and we have a number of sidewalks that are in a state of poor repair,” Michelle Swanson, Principal Planner for Public Works & Transport, told KIRO 7 News.
Of the 226 linear miles of sidewalks in Olympia, there were about 28,000 defects— that’s more than 123 defects per mile.
Like most cities in the U.S., Olympia’s code holds property owners responsible for maintaining sidewalks next to their homes or businesses. It’s a difficult code to enforce.
The city is now taking a closer look at its resources and what role a property owner should have when it comes to these fixes.
It’s been a long process – and hasn’t been an easy one.
In 2024, city staff took a closer look at the state of the sidewalks and approved $500,000 annually for repairs. You can view their inventory results here. Last year, they approved a dedicated crew to work on the sidewalks – and increased funding to $1.2 million annually.
Instead of strict code enforcement on property owners, the city is using that funding to help where it can. The city is tracking
Olympia’s strategy is garnering attention from others. Officials tell KIRO 7 that other city planners have reached out to see if they can copy their mapping and repair process, so sidewalks can be even and flat for everyone.
You can read more about the mission to fix Olympia’s sidewalks here.