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# Talking the walk
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/talking-the-walk/
- Published: 2008-01-08T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T17:52:36.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Sidewalks, The Civic due for some love; bus routes get nixed MORE REPAIRS ON THE WAY*

(Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.) CITY HALL — Some pricey changes are in store for Santa Monica as the City Council is expected to spend more than $9 million tonight on sidewalk improvements and the extension of contracts for various consulting services.

But with the spending could come savings, as the council will be asked to cut public transportation services that could result in more than $80,000 a year remaining in the city coffers.

Things might not have looked so dim for the Critic’s Choice Awards on Monday night if the ceremony had been scheduled a few months into the future.

In an effort to better market the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for special events, like awards shows, the council is expected tonight to award a contract to a private company to upgrade the venue’s outdated electrical system.

The estimated $490,600 contract to A-1 Electrical Services Co. is meant to bring the electrical system and its equipment, which was installed in 1958, up to current safety code standards. The aging system is insufficient to accommodate modern equipment and guests often bring in a generator to ensure there are no outages during an event, lessening the appeal of the Civic Auditorium as one of the premier special events venues on the Westside.

“The new electrical service will accommodate exterior and interior event requirements, which contribute to the marketing efforts and booking potential of the facility, providing an economic benefit to the city and downtown area,”according to a city staff report.

If approved, upgrades will take place between June 23 and July 27, during which time the venue will be closed.

A lengthy list containing more than 2,000 sidewalks in dire need of repair is about to get truncated.

Sequel Contractors is expected to land an estimated $8.3 million contract from the city to perform a series of repairs to streets and sidewalks, a project that includes maintenance of the Civic Auditorium parking lot and drainage improvements on Broadway from 20th to 21st streets.

The Street Maintenance Division at City Hall manages a list that includes more than 2,026 backlog sidewalk repair locations that date back several years. The repair project would address 588 of those locations. Currently, 1,258 locations are being fixed under the citywide Sidewalk Repair Project and another 180 are getting some attention by Street Maintenance Division crews, according to a city staff report.

The maintenance work would entail overlaying asphalt, restriping streets, reconstructing sidewalks and pruning trees.

The project covers several neighborhoods in the city, including north of Montana Avenue, Sunset Park and Mid-City.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 8, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)