Somerville, MA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Section 11-1 of the Code of Ordinances, carried over from the 1963 Code, assigns the commissioner of public works direction and control over "the construction, alteration, repair, maintenance and management of ways, streets, sidewalks and bridges," alongside the commissioner's parallel authority over drains, common sewers, public grounds and parks, and public buildings. That means when a public sidewalk slab cracks, heaves or needs full reconstruction, the Department of Public Works, not the abutting property owner, is the party the code designates to direct and carry out the work; the commissioner also has custody of all plans, surveys, measurements and levels for public ways.

This differs from the code's narrower owner duties covering the same sidewalks: owners and occupants must keep abutting sidewalks free of litter under the health chapter, and must clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks within six hours of a storm under section 12-8, but neither of those provisions makes an owner responsible for concrete or pavement reconstruction. Related street-opening rules in chapter 8 place repair costs on licensed drain layers only when their own excavation work disturbs a sidewalk, requiring a temporary patch replaced with matching original material within 90 days, again a contractor obligation, not a general abutter duty.

A homeowner who wants a driveway apron or curb cut cut into a sidewalk still needs a commissioner of public works permit, and any related excavation work follows the asphalt street and sidewalk opening standards administered by the highway superintendent.