MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Since 1999, Meridian Township has had a sidewalk repair program.

"That means basically repairing of residential sidewalks within subdivisions, and the idea is to ensure those sidewalks are maintained to ensure people use them safely and to avoid trip hazards and other obstructions," Meridian Township Chief Engineer Younes Ishraidi said.

Township staff inspects residential areas within Meridian Township and there are 11 items of criteria that are followed.

"Based on the information that we collected in the field, we put together a list and we called it the assessment rule," Ishraidi said.

Once the assessment district is determined, homeowners are notified and they have the option to repair the sidewalk on their own after contacting the township, or the township will repair it.

"For the folks who opt to have the township do it, they don't have to get a permit, the township will address all that, then our contractor will do the work for them," Ishraidi said.

The goal is to cover then entire township over a period of nine years, with each year having a focus on one specific neighborhood.

"It takes awhile to get the process going, but essentially the objective is to ensure we have a walkable community," Ishraidi said.

The repair area for 2016 has not yet been established, but will be chosen soon.