Streets That Work » Walking (Sidewalks)

Streets That Work Walking (Sidewalks)

a.k.a. Community United to Repair our Broken Sidewalks (CURBS)

“I want to advocate for complete and safe sidewalks for everyone in the Eugene-Springfield area, with a revised funding model.”

Source: City of Eugene

UPDATE September 2026: BEST’s Cycle of Change program is being folded into the larger Streets That Work movement.

Streets That Work Walking, a.k.a. Community United to Repair our Broken Sidewalks (CURBS), is a volunteer group of Eugene residents advocating for improved sidewalk repair and maintenance that has been meeting since early 2024.

CURBS is supported by Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST). To get involved, let us know here:

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Latest Update: The CURBS Survey Report

Over 300 total responses, including:

  • 281 stories and comments* many describing personal injuries from broken sidewalks, expressing concern for pedestrians with disabilities and asserting that sidewalks are public infrastructure. Many commented on tree-sidewalk conflicts, both about having to pay to repair sidewalks broken by city-owned trees and about wanting to avoid tree removal.
  • The most concerning theme identified in survey feedback is that pedestrians are using the street due to broken sidewalks.
  • Overall, respondents urged the City of Eugene to seek ways to publicly fund sidewalks to protect the public’s safety. The majority of respondents said they would support a fee-based model similar to Corvallis. See page 5 for more key insights. Respondents reported the areas where they regularly use the sidewalks; every neighborhood in Eugene was referenced but Downtown was cited the most, see the map on page 6

The full report:

CURBS Survey Report_FINAL_20260928Download

History of Our Movement – Working for Change

At a City Council work session on September 23rd, 2026, staff updated councilors on the current state of sidewalks and two repair pilots. Councilor Kashinsky noted “It is a quirk of history that sidewalks are treated differently than other infrastructure. . . . When do we have the discussion and what information do we need to have first?”

After researching how programs in other communities for repairing sidewalks, CURBS published a pair of viewpoints:

At a City Council work session on June 25, 2025, staff provided an update on the city’s sidewalk improvement program, including progress on options for increasing sidewalk repair and construction in the community and exploring potential actions for City Council consideration:

After collecting almost 1,000 signatures to the petition, CURBS published a guest viewpoint:

CURBS started with a petition, calling on city leaders to devise a stable, adequate and equitable funding mechanism for ongoing sidewalk repair:

The Current System is Broken, Like Our Sidewalks

Both property owners and the City of Eugene are already paying for sidewalk maintenance. We’re just doing it in an expensive, chaotic, ineffective and inequitable way.

If you’ve walked on Eugene’s sidewalks, chances are you’ve stumbled or even fallen on cracked, uneven pavement. Maybe you cursed the hazard. Maybe you wondered, “Why doesn’t somebody fix this?” The answer might surprise you: In Eugene, fixing the sidewalk isn’t the city’s job. It’s yours.

While the city of Eugene maintains streets, bike lanes, off-street paths and has even added accessible curb ramps at intersections, sidewalks are left out of the equation. That’s because under city code, adjacent property owners—not the city—are responsible for maintaining sidewalks. The trouble is, most property owners don’t even know that. And so, while our roads improve, our sidewalks continue to deteriorate.

If someone complains—anonymously—about the condition of the sidewalk adjacent to your property, you could receive a notice such as this one.

Courtesy Notice of Required Sidewalk/Approach Maintenance. CIty of Eugene Public Works Maintenance
Less seen small cracks can be more dangerous than large ones. Two such cracks were ground down for $515

Even when complaints do get fixed, it does not result in a working system of sidewalks. For example, on East 3rd Avenue in the East Skinner Butte Historic District, a bunch of sidewalk panels were replaced, covering most of the block. But the sidewalk leading up to the new panels is still broken, and would be dangerous or impassable to anyone with mobility issues. So the money spent on all of those new sidewalks (presumably paid by the property owners) is essentially wasted.

Sidewalk panels being replaced along East 3rd Avenue.
Credit: Sue Wolling

Have Questions? See our FAQ:

FAQ

External links

Walk audits

Sidewalk quality

Sidewalk repair

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See also

Related information from BEST:

Last updated 10/2/26.