Now you can do something even more productive while sitting on the potty — or the bus — than reading CHS. Last week, Seattle City Hall rolled out its new mobile site and apps to enable citizens to report a wide array of urban maladies including abandoned cars, graffiti and the mysterious “Other Inquiry.”
A quick perusal of open issues submitted through the system reveals 0 open issues as of this posting — here’s your chance to play mayor.
Details on the new Find It, Fix tools, below.
Seattle launches new smartphone app for reporting service requests
“Find It, Fix It” offers mobile phone users new way to report graffiti, potholes and other issues
SEATTLE – The City of Seattle is launching “Find It, Fix It,” a smartphone app offering mobile users a new way to report selected issues to the City. The app takes advantage of technology available on mobile devices, including geographic awareness, to give mobile users a convenient way to alert the City to issues such as graffiti and potholes, while providing location information that helps City staff respond. The City is also soliciting public feedback on the app, which will be fine-tuned to respond to initial use and comments.
“When you’re out in your neighborhood and see a pothole, graffiti, or something else you think the City should know about, Find It, Fix It gives you an easy way to notify us so we can fix it,” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “Download the app, test it out and share your feedback and ideas to help us develop more mobile services.”
The app, which can be downloaded to any iPhone or Android phone, offers the following service request categories:
- · Abandoned Vehicles: report vehicles parked in a public right-of-way more than three days.
- · Graffiti: report graffiti, including what it is on – parking meter, utility pole or building – so it gets automatically routed to the appropriate department for response.
- · Pothole: report a pothole.
- · Parking Enforcement: make an inquiry regarding a parking concern.
- · Other Inquiry: this miscellaneous category is for making an inquiry or request, which will be processed by the City’sCustomer Service Bureau. Mobile users should choose this category to provide feedback.
The app also provides a link to http://m.seattle.gov, the mobile version of the City of Seattle’s website.
Android users can download the app from the Google Play Store and iPhone users can download the app from the App Store. The fastest way to find the app is to search on this phrase within quotes: “find it, fix it.”
The public is currently able to report issues and request information in person at City Hall, the Seattle Municipal Tower and any of six Neighborhood Service Centers, over the phone by calling 206-684-2489 (CITY), and at the City’s website athttp://www.seattle.gov. With the new Find It, Fix It app, members of the public can now also report an issue using their smartphones by snapping a photo, adding detailed information, and hitting submit. The map’s “drag and drop” feature or the phone’s own technology can be used to pinpoint the location.
Submissions are entered into the City’s Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system, and departments responsible for providing that specific service will manage and track requests. The City of Seattle began using the CRM system in December 2011. There may be some initial delays in response time as City departments adjust to any increase in service requests.
All requests submitted must specify a location within Seattle city limits in order to complete processing. If the location is outside the city limits, a message will display to the user and the request will close automatically.
The City anticipates adding other request types in the future and welcomes feedback on the app and ideas for additional features. Users should choose the Find It, Fix It app’s “other inquiry” category – found under the “New Request” icon – to submit feedback.
Surprisingly, the city government does not seem to have systems in place to detect and fix problems on its own…they usually rely on citizens to report problems like these. I hope this new app will mean more people will report problems when they see them.
For those like me who want to continue to report using their pc, here is the direct link to the online form:
http://seattle-p1csrprodcwi.motorolasolutions.com/ServiceRequest.mvc/SRIntake
Also, one major problem not covered by the above link (or the new app) is “illegal dumping” (furniture, TVs, junk etc). It is handled by Seattle Public Utilities. Here is the link to report this problem:
http://www2.seattle.gov/util/forms/illegalDumping/illegalDumpForm.asp
Calhoun. You can report abandoned furniture using the “other” category.
As for potholes, the ones I reported on Terrace St were patched about 30 min or so after I reported them with the app. So using it does work.
I think it’s great to have an app for folks who want it! I used the PC method of reporting a “no parking” sign that some asshats kept pulling out of the ground in front of my building and the City had it replaced with a steel pole in about 2 days after I reported it.
Now if only they could get rid of the marijuana grow and distribution operation in the apartment across the hall… *sigh*
why not call the police and landlord about the grow operation across the hall?
This is crazy. About a month ago my wife and I were idly chatting and she suggested I write a smartphone app and then asked what kind of app I would make. And I said, I swear this is true, I would create an app that would allow you to take pics of graffiti and abandoned furniture (both the bane of my existence), use gps to pinpoint the location and then automatically report it to the correct agency for removal. Someone beat me to the punch! Glad to see that my great idea was actually implemented – surely I never would’ve gotten around to it
There goes your million dollar idea! ;-) I’m sure you’ll have more though.
You know here’s an idea for an app…take a picture of the license plate of the car that doesn’t know what to do nor who goes first at a four-way stop so they are forced into remedial Driver’s Ed when they go to renew their license and then upload that picture to the Department of Licensing.
[…] The City’s twitter voice says you can, indeed, use the Find It, Fix It app to report vermin issues on the Hill — and beyond. You can also call King County Health […]