To the editor:

I am a homeowner who is very concerned about the sidewalk repair issue. A retired public school teacher, I am financially vulnerable. I have over 200 feet of sidewalk along Bob Billings Parkway. There is no way I can pay the thousands of dollars mentioned in the latest Journal-World article.

I have lived here since 1980, when this area was county and Bob Billings Parkway did not exist. My street was a dead end. After annexation in 1985, the city took a strip of my property for the road, and I had to pay special assessments for curbs and sidewalks. Being on the corner, I paid more than anyone else in the benefit district. Imagine my consternation when work crews drove heavy equipment on the new sidewalks and broke them. I have photographs. Next, the city required I connect with city sewers. That cost me $20,000 of my retirement savings.

This past June, AT&T dug up all 200 feet of my frontage on Bob Billings. They, too, have driven heavy equipment and damaged the sidewalks even more. I photographed this as well.

Given the above history, I believe the city should find a way to distribute sidewalk repair costs to those who did the damage, as well as to those who use the sidewalks, i.e., the public at large.