City services requests

[from Kimberly Kniffen]

I was looking around the DC government website and found this handy little thing! It only takes a few minutes to create a username and password, and then you can put in requests for the following services:

Abandoned Vehicles, Litter Can Service or Repair, Signs – Street Name, Alley Cleaning, Parking Enforcement, Street Cleaning, Alley Lights, Parking Meters, Street Repair, Alley Repair, Parking Regulations, Streetlight Repair, Bulk Collection, Pavement Markings, Supercan, Curb & Gutter Repair, Potholes, Traffic Signals, Dead Animal, Rats, Traffic Signs, Eviction, Recycling Bin, Trash Collection, Graffiti, Recycling Collection, Tree Maintenance, Grass & Weeds Mowing, Residential Parking Permit, Utility Cuts Repair, Illegal Dumping, Sanitation Enforcement, Vacant Lot, Illegal Dumping Signs, Sidewalk Repair, Yard Waste Collection, Leaf Collection.

Click here for the Services Request Center page.

Comments

[Nathan Boggs]

i have lived in Petworth for roughly 4 years. WHat I find works best for problems in the neighborhood is to write and email EVERYONE. And I do it at once. A year or so ago, people would speed down my street. I called and emailed Fenty, the police, and everyone on the website that would be remotely connected. It worked. And it has worked everytime. Do it from several diffent email accounts. Make your story sensational. For instance, I mentioned that it would be ashamed if a child were ran over by a speeding driver down our street.

[Jason]

Metro also has an e-mail comment system (http://www.wmata.com/riding/ridercomment.cfm). It is too soon for me to report how quickly it gets things done, but I wrote them on Jan 13 to report that the street level station lights at the north exit of the Georgia Ave./Petworth Station were out (and had been for three nights already), noting that this is a safety hazard and security risk, given the incidents of robbery which have occurred in recent months in this vicinity.
Yesterday, Green-Yellow Line Customer Service Representative Wendy Harrison sent an e-mail notifying me that the System Maintenance department had been notified and that a ticket was opened to have the lights repaired.
Hopefully, it won’t take them long, but if the lights stay off and anyone else is bothered by this, please feel free to reference my prior complaint (ticket number 20060171265, Case Number: 239365).
Additional contact information for the Green-Yellow Line Customer Service Representative (for Comments, Complaints, Suggestions) was provided: Tel: 202.962.5898 weekdays between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. / E-mail: [email protected]

[chris]

I use this a lot and love it. DC gov has gotten great at their services online. Last time I posted for a bulk pick-up--they came in 2 days.

Thanks for posting.

[Randy]

Great post...I have registered and made a recommendation already. Really appreciate these neighborly tips!!!

[Ed]

WOW!!! I went online around midnight Tuesday to report my alley light being burned out. Last night at 8pm a truck pulled into my alley and a work team replaced the light bulb. Less than 48 hours after my request!!! So glad to see a system work so well in this city!

[Joseph Martin]

I and Commissioner Shanel Anthony also called about this, and I am appreciative of neighbors who called. I am aware and pleased that than many did.

While calling any individuals in city agencies about this or any other problem is not a bad thing, it's also important to still use the 727-1000 Citywide Call Center system or the online service request procedure.

The Call Center is the manner by which the Mayor's Office can track service requests. The importance of the ability to track these problems is not to be underestimated. In previous days, one called various agencies directly. Whether or not something got done was somewhat episodic. At least tracking leads to accountabilty and allows for better management of city services. (A lot of people have been getting fired for lack of performance lately, and tracking information helps to determine who's on the ball and who's not.)

I also bring almost everything to the attention of Ward 4 Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Ayana Rockett: [email protected]

Ayana meets weekly with ALL the representatives for all the city agencies to review Ward 4 service requests and status.

For the record, I have found the city to be generally extremely responsive with fixing burned-out street lights, usually within three business days of my call or an online service request. Where there has been a delay has been due to a wiring problem requiring more extensive, time-consuming work.

[Ed]

Does Fred Akinbolago also oversee alley lights in Ward 4? I've got a request in to have the alley light behind my house fixed.

[Wanda Wheeler]

Several lights were out at the intersection of Sherman Circle and the 4600 block of Kansas Ave for almost a month. I, as well as two other neighbors, called the Mayor's call center for 3 weeks with no response. I finally got the name of the person who is in charge of street lights for Ward 4: Fred Akinbolago, 202-671-1346.

Thankfully, the lights on that corner have finally been repaired as of last week.

[Bill]

This is like the online version of calling 727-1000 for various city services. I hope people will use it, the city has been trying to show it's a new day in terms of their responsiveness to service requests. I've called for many things in the past couple years and had pretty good luck. We had some old graffiti on the side of our house, the city came within 2-3 days and blasted it off.

I'll try to post the link permanently somewhere in the left sidebar.