Check out the East Bay Express’ story “The Pothole Crusaders:
Bicyclists hold East Bay cities accountable for keeping roads clear of debris and other hazards” puts EBBC’s Hazard Reporting System front and center in ensuring safe, smooth streets in the East Bay. Our “highly successful road hazard program” allows for people to report potholes and other dangerous street conditions through our hazards webpage. EBBC then contacts the appropriate agency to make sure the situation is quickly remedied – with great results.
The article, by Nate Seltenrich, highlights one EBBC’s most effective campaigns and features Ian McDonald, EBBC member and dedicated volunteer. Here’s an excerpt…
“In a city notorious for slow decision-making and budget constraints on services, Oakland’s Public Works Agency is decidedly efficient when it comes to pothole repair — thanks in part to the vigilant eyes of local bicyclists. Through a fifteen-year-old campaign managed by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, as well as via a city hotline, bicyclists can report potholes, debris, and other hazards that often shoot straight to the top of street and sidewalk workers’ to-do lists.
“It can be invigorating, from the standpoint of getting things resolved,” said Ian McDonald, the point person for the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s highly successful road hazard program. He knows where, how, and to whom to report potholes, debris, and other dangers, and he knows who will get the job done (leading the way are Dublin, Pleasanton, and Fremont) and who will probably blow him off (Richmond and the more tenuous jurisdictions of AC Transit and Waste Management are safe bets). In many cases, his reputation precedes him: “They tend to recognize me, because I’m such a pest and have been doing it all these years.”
The program’s success can be measured in cities like Oakland, which has made great strides in pothole repair in recent years, according to McDonald, who has volunteered as the Oakland-based nonprofit bicycle advocacy group’s official “hazard elimination guy” for the past decade. Much of the improvement is due to the city’s new reporting system, which employs a user-friendly, though occasionally buggy online form that residents can use to alert the city to potholes and other hazards. There are few other sites like it in the East Bay, said McDonald, and it’s done wonders for the city’s accountability. Ninety percent of his pothole reports are answered by a tracking number within a day, and about 80 percent are resolved in a matter of weeks.”
The rest of the article is great – you can view it in its entirety here.
(Photo Credit: Nate Seltenrich)