The City of Kansas City, MO
Question No. 1 on the April ballot called for approval of the issuance of $600 million in bonds to repair streets, bridges and
sidewalks. One of the major selling points for residents was the promise to create a city-funded sidewalk repair program that
would eliminate homeowner assessments. To that end, some $150 million is being dedicated to sidewalks.

FAQs

What are the basic components of the GO KC
sidewalk program?


The bond passage allocated
$7.5 million each year for
sidewalk repairs for 20 yrs., or
until bond funds are exhausted


All sidewalks will be
inspected on a 10 yr. cycle.
Some bond funds will be used
for field design/evaluation to
accelerate the 10 yr. cycle


All pre-existing assessments not residing in the courts were forgiven


Curbs will be evaluated at the time of sidewalk
inspection based on functionality



Public Works will continue to confer with Parks
and Recreation to determine the health and
condition of existing trees, and options will be
considered before trees are removed



Citizens can still repair the sidewalk by obtaining a
minor infrastructure permit from City Planning
and Development (816-513-1500)



Development and redevelopment related sidewalk
requirements are not changed



Capital Projects undertaken by the City will include
sidewalk construction/repair in the project costs



With the passage of the bond issuance, Council
worked with and approved a Demand Analysis
Matrix that identifies priority sidewalk inspections

What is the back log of 311 sidewalk cases
that is being addressed by the GO Bonds?
Citizens request various city services, including
requests for sidewalk repair, through the City 311
Action Center. The backlog list includes 311 cases
on our citywide wait list up to January 1,
2017. This included (1,471) 311 case locations that
Public Works received from 2008 to the end of
2016.
311 cases received on or after January 1, 2017 will
be included in future citywide inspections using the
Sidewalk Demand Analysis as the basis for
inspection. Therefore, 311 calls made after January
1, 2017 may not receive immediate inspection, but
are assigned inspection based on prioritization
identified in the Demand Analysis. The initial
priority use of GO Bond funds is to address spot
repair locations in the backlog.

How is the backlog being addressed?
The citywide wait list has been divided into four
areas that align with the current inventory,
demand analysis, and 311 requests:
North of the Missouri River– 232 locations
Missouri River to 39th Street- 502 locations
39th Street to 85th Street- 653 locations
85th Street south- 84 locations
The Missouri River to 39th Street area, and the 39th
Street to 85th Street area, are the areas that had
the oldest 311 cases that had not been included in
recent years’ citywide sidewalk repair projects.
Sidewalk spot repair projects for these two areas
began in spring 2018.
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 The City of Kansas City, MO
How will my sidewalk repair be addressed if it is
not part of the 311 backlog?
Systematic Sidewalk Repair Program:
The systematic inspection will create priority lists for
inspection based on a data-driven points system.
These criteria were developed through meetings with
Councilman Scott Wagner’s sidewalk working group
and other stakeholder groups, and through research
of other municipalities that implemented a similar
process. The following inspection prioritization plan,
assigning points based on proximity to locations and
other household factors, was approved by City
Council in August 2017.
Systematic Inspection Prioritization Point System:
Schools (8 points)
Libraries (8 points)
Community Centers (8 points)
Hospitals and Safety Net Providers (8 points)
Median Household Income (3, 5, 8 points)
Transit Stops (3, 5, 8 points)
Parks (5 points)
Grocery Stores/Markets (5 points)
Arterial Streets (5 points)
Vehicle Access (3, 4, 5 points)
Population Density (1-5 points)
Employment Density (1-3 points)
Transportation Terminals (1 point)
You can view a map of this prioritization data and
backlog spot repair locations at kcmo.gov/sidewalks

Can I still report my
repairs to 311?
The new inspection
process will streamline identification of
needed repairs and
take the burden off of
property owners.
However, citizens can
still report repair
needs through 311.
The requests will be noted by the sidewalk
inspection group and it will be included in the City’s
systematic citywide inspection process. Thus, a 311
request may not generate an immediate inspection
or repair.

What if there are no sidewalks in front of my
property?
If considered a priority area where sidewalks do
not currently exist, projects could be funded at
50% with a 50% match from other funds such as:
PIAC, adjacent property owners, grants, other
government funding districts as approved by
council. New sidewalks in newly developed areas
will continue to be required under the City’s
development code. The new sidewalk program will
not impact that requirement.
Find more information on the GO KC Sidewalk
Program at kcmo.gov/sidewalks

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