Image by Flickr user Matt Carman A rather mild example of sidewalk issues in Charleston.

Charleston is not a city where I'd want to be in charge of sidewalk maintenance.

Off the top of my head, a top five list of reasons not to: Sidewalks are often old, the ground is often landfill and sinks much, you have many different types (brick, bluestone, concrete ...), many old and young trees, and a need to make old sidewalks more accessible to those with disabilities.

Still the maintenance must go on, lean budgets or not.

The Post and Courier has done a piece running down this thread and why it's not so easy; take a read here.