Thank you for submitting your request. The tracking number is 14-00122085. You will receive a separate email when your request has been closed by the servicing agency.
I got your email -- wrong address. It's not at 160 D Street NE. It's on Massachusetts Ave NE between Columbia Circle and 2nd Street NE (by Thurgood Marshall Judiciary Building). See ticket # 14-00122109. It's in same area -- see picture.
Three weeks -- I have not heard from anyone. I'm attaching another picture I took this morning. Problem remain the same for past 3 weeks. See tracking 14-00122085 for more pictures next to sidewalk!
David, I've been frustrated with this type of thing too. I think this SeeClickFix software actually does a fairly good job for what it does, which to give citizens an interface to provide requests to the city for what they want done. However, I don't know, I'm not sure if, the city paid to integrate it into all the different systems the city departments use to manage their tasks, actions, work orders, change requests, etc. The Office of Unified Communications at 311 runs this website to receive info for most of the city's departments but does not run all communication responses and updates for departments. Each department decides how to deal with the 311 issues they receive, how to provide updates and respond, and how to keep track of them, differently. Maybe 311 does some responding for a few departments but I bet that is limited as the Office of Unified Communications would have to be paid by a department to do that for them.
Sometimes I think the Motorola system that responds back with a "tracking # " that we see is "just" the 2nd system and that most departments don't even realize this SeeClickFix website for citizen request exists. I think some departments use third (or fourth, fifth?) systems that are not integrated either into SeeClickFix or into the tracking system at all. I suspect employees take that info provided here in an SCF issue by a citizen or from the tracking system and they copy it by hand or cut and paste it into their own system. Why, I don't know exactly but I can speculate.
It's tempting to say stupidity or bad internal department communications has led to having more than two systems but there could be other reasons for not having integration. Privacy? Security? In many cases I bet the systems that departments use might do additional things, include or collect other information, and that it helps departments to stay organized if they have their own system. That's better than one managed by people like us who create multiple new issues for the same thing (no insult intended here, duplicates happen in multiple ways). Who wants to work in a work system has a regular flood of issues created by citizens but is not organized to match a department's operational structure? Some offices probably have detailed work plans, scopes, contracts, invoices, etc. that hold much more information than what either the Motorola ticketing or the SCF systems hold. In reality, I bet a good enough integration could be done with all departments and offer the privacy and security needed as well as allow each department to maintain control of their work environment, but it would be costly. Departments probably need new work methods to keep citizens better informed and prevent us from being @#$% off.
If you want the water fixed, I would call 311, give them your original tracking #, find out what office is involved, get the phone # of that office, and call them to find out the timeline. You could also ask that department if they use SeeClickFix and see what they say. My bet is that if you are having problems getting work done, that this particular department is less integrated than others, doesn't want to deal with the problem, doesn't think it's a problem, or doesn't want to spend department money to solve it. Or maybe this specific issue is the problem and the department isn't doing a good job dealing with an unusual request.
You could also figure out which Councilmember has oversight of that department to better determine why this specific problem happened and try to begin a better solution. I suspect if we were to pay more $, then SeeClickFix could do what you want. In this specific situation the dept may consider your request a federal issue because it is in front of Thurgood... and perhaps it is either sitting in a work queue at Thurgood, no one there has been contacted, or Thurgood knows their lawn has a lot of flooding problems and doesn't have money in their budget yet to fix it.
Comments update: 14-00122085-Sidewalk Repair
164-178 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast, Washington, DC 20544, USA
Please fix water flood on sidewalk. We can't walk on it. We have to detour on muddy grass
By BHATIA, SANDEEP: 7/25/2014 12:43:45 PM
Per Inspector: Repair completed no further action needed
5 Comments
Acknowledged DC 311 (Registered User)
David J. Nelson (Registered User)
David J. Nelson (Registered User)
Frustrated too (Guest)
David, I've been frustrated with this type of thing too. I think this SeeClickFix software actually does a fairly good job for what it does, which to give citizens an interface to provide requests to the city for what they want done. However, I don't know, I'm not sure if, the city paid to integrate it into all the different systems the city departments use to manage their tasks, actions, work orders, change requests, etc. The Office of Unified Communications at 311 runs this website to receive info for most of the city's departments but does not run all communication responses and updates for departments. Each department decides how to deal with the 311 issues they receive, how to provide updates and respond, and how to keep track of them, differently. Maybe 311 does some responding for a few departments but I bet that is limited as the Office of Unified Communications would have to be paid by a department to do that for them.
Sometimes I think the Motorola system that responds back with a "tracking # " that we see is "just" the 2nd system and that most departments don't even realize this SeeClickFix website for citizen request exists. I think some departments use third (or fourth, fifth?) systems that are not integrated either into SeeClickFix or into the tracking system at all. I suspect employees take that info provided here in an SCF issue by a citizen or from the tracking system and they copy it by hand or cut and paste it into their own system. Why, I don't know exactly but I can speculate.
It's tempting to say stupidity or bad internal department communications has led to having more than two systems but there could be other reasons for not having integration. Privacy? Security? In many cases I bet the systems that departments use might do additional things, include or collect other information, and that it helps departments to stay organized if they have their own system. That's better than one managed by people like us who create multiple new issues for the same thing (no insult intended here, duplicates happen in multiple ways). Who wants to work in a work system has a regular flood of issues created by citizens but is not organized to match a department's operational structure? Some offices probably have detailed work plans, scopes, contracts, invoices, etc. that hold much more information than what either the Motorola ticketing or the SCF systems hold. In reality, I bet a good enough integration could be done with all departments and offer the privacy and security needed as well as allow each department to maintain control of their work environment, but it would be costly. Departments probably need new work methods to keep citizens better informed and prevent us from being @#$% off.
If you want the water fixed, I would call 311, give them your original tracking #, find out what office is involved, get the phone # of that office, and call them to find out the timeline. You could also ask that department if they use SeeClickFix and see what they say. My bet is that if you are having problems getting work done, that this particular department is less integrated than others, doesn't want to deal with the problem, doesn't think it's a problem, or doesn't want to spend department money to solve it. Or maybe this specific issue is the problem and the department isn't doing a good job dealing with an unusual request.
You could also figure out which Councilmember has oversight of that department to better determine why this specific problem happened and try to begin a better solution. I suspect if we were to pay more $, then SeeClickFix could do what you want. In this specific situation the dept may consider your request a federal issue because it is in front of Thurgood... and perhaps it is either sitting in a work queue at Thurgood, no one there has been contacted, or Thurgood knows their lawn has a lot of flooding problems and doesn't have money in their budget yet to fix it.
Just guesses and my .02
Closed DC 311 (Registered User)
164-178 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast, Washington, DC 20544, USA
Please fix water flood on sidewalk. We can't walk on it. We have to detour on muddy grass
By BHATIA, SANDEEP: 7/25/2014 12:43:45 PM
Per Inspector: Repair completed no further action needed