Gary, IN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Section 36-4 puts the burden of sidewalk upkeep on the private property owner rather than the city: it is unlawful for the owner of any building or lot to permit the abutting sidewalk to become and remain out of repair to the point that it is dangerous and unsafe for passage. The duty runs with the property regardless of who occupies it, though § 36-3's companion nuisance provision for loose sand on sidewalks shows the city's separate enforcement pattern for public-way hazards, where the board of public works and safety can remove a hazard itself and assess the cost as a lien on the property if the owner does not act.

Any actual repair or reconstruction of a sidewalk or curb must be done under a permit from the city engineer per § 36-72(a), whether the work replaces a hazardous slab flagged under § 36-4 or is voluntary maintenance; no permit is required only when the city itself builds the sidewalk under an improvement resolution. Section 36-72(c) further bars permits for plank, board or other wooden sidewalks and requires the repaired walk to form a continuous surface, with a street intersection not counted as a break in that continuity.

New construction triggers its own sidewalk obligation: § 36-76 requires public sidewalks along all street frontages of new residential, commercial, public or semi-public buildings, built to the city engineer's design and grade specifications, and the building commissioner must withhold the building permit until the sidewalk permit issues and withhold final approval until the sidewalk is actually built.