Colorado Springs: 48,000 Trip Hazards Repaired Over 12+ Years
Program summary
Colorado Springs has run a sidewalk trip hazard program with Precision Concrete Cutting (PCC) for more than 12 years, with continuous renewals and no gap in service since launch. More than 48,000 trip hazards have been repaired, and PCC's GIS data has been integrated with the city's asset management system since the program began. It is Colorado's longest-running sidewalk program of this kind.
Client: City of Colorado Springs public works; the program also serves HOAs, schools and commercial corridors
Scope: Sidewalk survey, trip hazard removal by horizontal cutting and GIS data delivery, integrated with the city's asset management system
Years: 12+ years with continuous renewals and no contract break
Hazards repaired: 48,000+
Sidewalk surveyed per cycle: 33+ miles, about 1.4% of the city's 2,426 mile network
Detection threshold: 3/8 inch to 1 1/2 inches
ADA: Active ADA Title II Transition Plan, Phase 15
The challenge
Colorado Springs maintains 2,426 miles of sidewalk and more than 35,000 curb ramps. Freeze-thaw cycles and clay-soil terrain push panels out of line across residential streets and commercial corridors alike. The city operates an active ADA Title II Transition Plan, now in Phase 15, so it needs a hazard inventory it can keep current, a record it can defend when a claim arrives and a program that can run year after year without a new procurement each time.
What PCC did
Survey by cycle. Each survey cycle covers 33+ miles of sidewalk, about 1.4% of the network, with every hazard measured, photographed and GPS-located before crews mobilize.
Threshold set by the city. Hazards from 3/8 inch to 1 1/2 inches are within scope.
Cut, not replaced. Each hazard is cut horizontally to a 1:12 slope, the same slope standard the ADA sets for ramps, on residential and commercial grades alike. One hazard takes 15 to 20 minutes, with no demolition, no cure time and no full sidewalk closure.
Data in the city's system. GIS data has been integrated with the city's asset management system since the program began, so the inventory and the repair record live where the city's other assets do.
One program, several owners. The program serves city public works, HOAs, schools and commercial corridors.
Results
48,000+ trip hazards repaired.
33+ miles surveyed per cycle on a 2,426 mile network.
12+ years of continuous service, with renewals and no contract break.
GIS data integrated with the city's asset management system and its ADA Title II Transition Plan since the program began.
What it means for other cities
Colorado Springs shows what a program looks like when the data lives inside the city's own systems from day one. Three points carry over:
The record is the asset. Because GIS data has been integrated with the asset management system since the start, every repair closes out its own survey point for the Transition Plan.
The threshold is the city's call. Colorado Springs surveys at 3/8 inch to 1 1/2 inches; Seattle and San Francisco survey at 1/4 inch and up. The program adapts to the standard the city sets.
One contract can serve more than one owner. The same program covers city public works, HOAs, schools and commercial corridors, so the method and the record are the same across the city.
See how a municipal program works year to year, what HOAs should expect, or compare with Seattle and San Francisco.
Frequently asked questions
Who repairs sidewalk trip hazards for the City of Colorado Springs?
Precision Concrete Cutting has run the Colorado Springs sidewalk program for more than 12 years with continuous renewals and no contract break. More than 48,000 trip hazards have been repaired, with 33+ miles surveyed per cycle.
How much of the Colorado Springs sidewalk network is covered each cycle?
About 33 miles per survey cycle, which is 1.4% of the city's 2,426 mile sidewalk network. The city also maintains more than 35,000 curb ramps.
What hazard size does Colorado Springs repair?
The detection threshold is 3/8 inch to 1 1/2 inches. Each hazard is cut to a 1:12 slope, with results on residential and commercial grades alike.
How does the program feed the city's ADA Transition Plan?
PCC's GIS data has been integrated with the city's asset management system since the program began, and the city runs an active ADA Title II Transition Plan, now in Phase 15.
Start a program in your city
Request a free assessment, call 1-877-224-0025 or email inquiries@safesidewalks.com.