How many of you actually regularly report potholes/other street damage?

Submitted by CHIMPSnDIP88 t3_10t9sb1 in philadelphia

From the talk on this sub and people in general, I thought reporting street damage was borderline pointless. But I’ve reported two depressions in the road now, and they were both fixed within the week. Damage that had been there for months. I guess no one else has been bothering to report these road hazards? I don’t live in a particularly wealthy area or anything either. I think more people should consider using this tool if they’ve never tried it, that’s all.

https://www.phila.gov/services/streets-sidewalks-alleys/report-a-problem-on-a-city-street-sidewalk-or-alley/report-a-pothole-or-other-street-damage/

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[deleted] t1_j76txfj wrote

My wife texts 311 like she is a drunk college girl texting her ex

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phanavision t1_j76d77j wrote

I report stuff all the time.

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persephone-aflame t1_j76635z wrote

this isn’t necessarily street damage, but i’ve also had luck reporting leftover construction debris on 311. they had it gone within the week

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H00die5zn t1_j76f5q5 wrote

I’ve reported two just this morning!

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fritolazee t1_j76hk9p wrote

I started doing it after people here told me it would work. So far 2 out of 2 success.

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Phl_worldwide t1_j767t4j wrote

As a long time super user, I have ran out of faith. They respond slower and close ticket’s automatically for no reason a lot more frequently now. And with the impending election of more of the same, I expect it to stay that way. And frankly the road crew probably already had your street scheduled

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CHIMPSnDIP88 OP t1_j77kd4l wrote

That would’ve been a huge coincidence. The first hole had been there for at least three months. Reported it, and four days later it was gone. I didn’t report the second hole until two weeks later. Got an update that they had come, inspected the damage, and five days after it was reported it was fixed.

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Scumandvillany t1_j76qt7b wrote

I've reported more than 5000 things to 311 since it started in 2013 or so. I had to change accounts more than once because their database wouldn't load my history properly and the app would crash or lock up.

Some of that was in bursts of hundreds at a time using notes from street investigation.

I am popular and my wife never tried to send me to Bellevue.

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Fattom23 t1_j787mb0 wrote

Do you have any idea about what percentage of that stuff ever got fixed?

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Scumandvillany t1_j78993p wrote

About 70%? Lots of it was vacant lot cleanups and vacant lot licenses/vacant property licenses and complaints.

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Fattom23 t1_j789g71 wrote

That's a far higher average than I would have expected. I've really only ever reported abandoned cars with it, and it's taken so long to get them removed that it may just be a coincidence when they do disappear.

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Scumandvillany t1_j78accc wrote

Bando cars are probably the thing 311 does the worst. Of course, it's because the police are lazy and they're too busy delivering faxes

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Brahette t1_j76pjop wrote

There was a sink hole on my neighbor's street and it took us constantly reporting it for 3 or 4 months for them to even come out and look at it

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littlejawn t1_j78blft wrote

At that point you have to go to the news. Learned that lesson after the city ignored a curb-to-curb sinkhole for 5 months - was filled in within a few weeks after NBC got involved.

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districtultra t1_j76ffzv wrote

I've gotten very active on 311 ever since construction tore up a utility ditch on my block 3 days after the repaving of our street. That plus pointing out problem intersections where drivers almost hit me.

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Little_Noodles t1_j76rxox wrote

I report things around my neighborhood on a regular basis (I’ve got a busted streetlight in the queue right now).

The last street issue I reported was a massive ditch left by installing utility lines for new construction. The lines were in, but the infill had settled and the ditches were half filled.

Took about a week to get a response and the response was that they’d be out in something like 45 business days, which was a disappointment. It did eventually get done after a few months though.

I’ve had pretty good response times on other issues though.

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Ams12345678 t1_j76z6td wrote

Very often. Most of the time it works.

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Lorenaelsalulz t1_j771k7j wrote

I’ve had good experiences with 311 reporting. I’ve gotten a pothole fixed within weeks, graffiti cleaned, trash picked up, vacant house secured, and overgrown vacant lot cleared out several times.

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kellyoohh t1_j777che wrote

Probably on a weekly basis. Still takes forever. There’s been a car parked on my block with 4 slashed tires for over 2 weeks that I’ve reported almost daily. Good times.

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dotcom-jillionaire t1_j7bhjh0 wrote

people love to rag on it, but 311 is pretty great. staffing shortages and poor coordination between different city departments isn't 311's fault, so people need to temper their expectations for certain kinds of repairs (streets and abandoned vehicles especially), but overall i report what i can and more times than not 311 has satisfied the request (eventually)

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CB_700_SC t1_j76xszm wrote

Used to report potholes all the time to 311. Took months if not years to get a response or fix. sadly the fix is almost always temporary and degraded within a month. A bunch of time they would say they could not find an issue. Started reporting it on Twitter and has a slight better response but was still negligence on the city’s part imo. I have pretty much given up on 311 doing anything. I have had open tickets closed due to (I think) the local inspector trying not to have a list of open tickets at the end of the year. Only for me to respond that the issue is still present and they reopen the ticket under a new #. I have had inspectors call me and tell me it’s not their job to tell contractors to keep the sidewalk and street clean when they dump onto the street construction debris.

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covercash t1_j77p759 wrote

I need to do a walk around my neighborhood with the 311 app open but it’s been too cold. There are so many potholes around me they could probably use a full load of asphalt before lunch.

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Peemster99 t1_j77f2x9 wrote

I do, though mostly when street lights are out. The response is usually pretty good, although it's gotten a lot worse over the past few years (definitely during Covid, but before as well.)

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riotincandyland t1_j77sp6g wrote

My neighbor had a sink hole starting to form. We could literally see under the street. I reported it to 311 and nothing. Nobody even checked it out. My neighbor ended up buying concrete and patching it himself. I moved so idk if it even opened back up. Needless yo say, I did not park my car outfront any more.

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CHIMPSnDIP88 OP t1_j77uz5u wrote

Did anyone call the 311 number?

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riotincandyland t1_j77v8ua wrote

I called AND submitted a request on the website. I bet my request is still there.

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CHIMPSnDIP88 OP t1_j780ube wrote

That’s crazy. I wonder why some requests are done so fast and others are put on the back burner forever.

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easy_peazy t1_j77xk4u wrote

Once or twice a year. Im actually shocked that it works haha.

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Zhuul t1_j78dw61 wrote

I reported standing water in a subway stairwell because the floor drain was clogged, it got marked completed after a week with nothing being done.

Mind you this was during peak mosquito season…

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uptown_gargoyle t1_j76dtuf wrote

I vaguely remember somebody posting about how pictures of dicks can sometimes make the city respond faster, so I've been attaching penis pics to all my 311 reports in the app. seems effective idk

ETA: drawings, not photographs. doodles really

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AbaloneDifferent4168 t1_j76vb5o wrote

No reason to be obnoxious. Save it for when it is appropriate. The people there just work there and don't deserve insults for no reason. Please.

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goatsfloat t1_j78ekx5 wrote

That you think sexually assaulting 311 workers is funny makes you actually quite terrifying.

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mslancaster t1_j7a1uch wrote

I always report clogged drainage inlets also!

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thehoagieboy t1_j778v7o wrote

I report them on Waze, does that count?

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