The Borough of Ridgefield Park NJ REQUIRES all homeowners to fix their sidewalks! See below.
Chapter 350 Section 17 (ecode360.com)
“The owners of land fronting or bordering on streets, roads and highways and other areas where the public traverses in the Village of Ridgefield Park are required to keep the sidewalks in front of such lands in good repair. Such owners of land fronting or bordering on such streets, roads and highways in the Village shall construct, reconstruct, pave, repave, improve or repair, at their own proper cost and expense, the sidewalks fronting or bordering such lands within 45 days following notice to do so, given in the manner required by law. The Board of Commissioners shall have the authority to notify any owner or occupant of a parcel who fails to keep such property in good repair; and, after 45 days’ notification, if such repairs are not done by the property owner or occupant, the Board of Commissioners shall have the authority, if it wishes, to have the repairs made to the sidewalk or take such other steps as may be necessary; and the expenses thereof, together with the interest and cost, shall be assessed as a tax and collected as a lien. Notice of such repairs and the fact that the repairs will be assessed as taxes against the property shall be given by the Village Clerk or a representative of the Building Department to the owner’s or occupant’s last known address, postage prepaid.”
Sidewalk repair and maintenance in the State of New Jersey is the responsibility of the abutting property proprietor. A lot of house proprietors are not aware of this ordinance and they assume that their city or state is responsible for repairing broken sidewalks. In most cases, the home proprietor will employ contractors to make the repair or their city will hire the work but will assess the house proprietor for 100% of the repair cost. In 2012, the borough of Highland Park in New Jersey launched a program that demanded estate owners to repair defective sidewalks adjacent to their homes. Your city or borough can be next!
A lawsuit waiting to happen…
Property proprietors in Ridgefield Park are liable for preserving the sidewalks adjacent to their property. When they fail to effectively preserve their sidewalks, they become accountable for the grievances that pedestrians suffer. These pedestrians that hurt themselves by cause of your broken sidewalk have the legal right to sue you since you are the estate owner. There are also dozens of lawyers that love to follow through with these kinds of premise liability cases, which will amount to a lot of money down the road. Thousands of house proprietors in the State of New Jersey have been taken to court due to their negligence or the lack of understanding in regards to sidewalks and responsibility.
Your municipality or borough may also send you a notice demanding you to fix your sidewalk. Failure to conform within a certain time frame will result in fines and penalties. Spare yourself a lawsuit and fines by hiring a sidewalk repair company ASAP!
Types of Sidewalk Defects
There are many types of defective sidewalks that can prove dangerous for Ridgefield Park pedestrians.
- Tree roots: When sidewalks go too long without repair, tree roots may cause them to become uneven.
- Collapsed sidewalks: Severely damaged sidewalks may have large parts caved in or separated from the rest of the walkway. This type of a situation certainly poses a serious fall hazard.
- Trip hazards: It is easy to trip and fall on large cracks that cut across poorly maintained sidewalks.
- Improper slope: Uneven sidewalks may have large portions that do not line up with the rest of the walkway.
- Patchwork: In an effort to save money on repairs, it is common to see inadequate patchwork jobs on specific locations that make the sidewalk surface uneven.
- Missing cobblestones and bricks: It is necessary to properly maintain walkways that are not made from concrete to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
Ridgefield Park NJ Sidewalk Repair Contractors
Employing a sidewalk contractor to fix your defective sidewalk is the best way to evade any lawsuits or fines from your municipality. HOLESSolutions, a Clifton based infrastructure repair company, focuses on sidewalk repair. With plenty of crews working all over Northern New Jersey, HOLESSolutions is capable of fixing your sidewalk within a few hours which in turn will diminish liability and enhance the look of your home’s aesthetics tremendously. Just a quick call to HOLESSolutions will end the daily gamble you’re taking. Available 24 hours a day/7 days a week, you can dial 973-779-4653 to get your sidewalk fixed professionally!