The Commonwealth Court upheld a lower court decision requiring the Borough of Jim Thorpe to maintain the High Street Steps, which connect High Street and West Broadway. Officials had argued that the absence of a formal municipal ordinance or resolution freed them from ongoing duties. However, the court ruled that Pennsylvania's implied dedication doctrine applied due to 130 years of public passage and documented municipal investments. These past actions included council-ordered paving directives in 1912 as well as an $8,000 reconstruction allocation approved in the late 1970s.
Key points
Prolonged public use and past municipal maintenance establish implied dedication under st…: Prolonged public use and past municipal maintenance establish implied dedication under state law without a formal ordinance.
Thomas and Michelle Loughery successfully defended their 2019 legal victory through Penns…: Thomas and Michelle Loughery successfully defended their 2019 legal victory through Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court appellate review.
The Borough of Jim Thorpe remains legally obligated to perform ongoing maintenance on the…: The Borough of Jim Thorpe remains legally obligated to perform ongoing maintenance on the historic hillside pedestrian passage.
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Public steps connecting two streets may look like an ordinary part of a neighbourhood, but responsibility for maintaining them can become complicated when they run across privately owned land. A Pennsylvania couple faced that issue after their borough disputed its obligation to maintain a set of steps that had been used by residents for generations. The couple argued that the public had relied on the passage for more than a century and that the borough had repeatedly repaired and maintained it using public resources.
The dispute reached Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court after the Borough of Jim Thorpe challenged a lower court ruling requiring it to continue maintaining the High Street Steps. In its October 30, 2026,
decision in TM Loughery and MK Loughery v. Borough of Jim Thorpe, docket number 466 C.D. 2025, available on Justia, the appeals court upheld the ruling. It found that 130 years of uninterrupted public use, together with historical evidence of the borough's involvement in repairs and reconstruction, established that the steps had been dedicated to public use and accepted by the borough.
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