TucsonVelo.com, an online source for news, advocacy issues, events and people important to Tucson's thriving cyclist community, recently featured SeeClickFix as a resource for combating road hazards.
How to: Get bike lane hazards fixed was created after TucsonVelo.com editor Michael McKisson encountered a pothole that stretched across a bike lane and decided to take action.

A cyclist swings into traffic to avoid a pothole on Mountain Avenue. Image c/o TucsonVelo.com

After reporting the pothole on SeeClickFix, and contacting the Tucson Mayor's chief of staff Andrew Greenhill, the Mountain Avenue crater is on it's way to a full fix. McKisson wanted to share his experience, and the suggestions he received, to help other cyclists effectively advocate for their reported road hazards to be fixed.  His in-depth resource guide lays out his process in three in-depth steps. 

Step 1: Report it 

The first way to report the issue is to use SeeClickFix.com, a website the city partnered with a little over a year ago to make it easy for the public to report road issues. You can report problems on their website, through a smartphone application which uses GPS and easily allows you to upload a photo. Lastly, SeeClickFix just launched a Facebook application, which allows you to report it on Facebook. Greenhill said the city has received hundreds of reported issues through SeeClickFix.com since the city started working with the site.He said when the city receives a report from SeeClickFix, it is entered into the software system the city uses to track maintenance issues.

Step 2: Follow Up

SeeClickFix.com has a built-in feature that allows users to vote for issues they want to see repaired. Greenhill said a report is generated each time someone votes for an issue to repaired. The votes are something they take into account. “The more people vote for a specific issue, the more the government should take that into consideration as they put together their work schedule,” he said.

Step 3: Do It Yourself

While not expressly allowed by the city, some issues can easily be fixed by cyclists themselves. I’ve seen a rider pull out a pair of pruning shears to trim plants that were encroaching into the bike lane on Mountain Avenue.

A huge thank you to TucsonVelo.com for including us in this valuable resource for road safety. We look forward to seeing what cyclists in Tucson are SeeClickFixin' on their daily commute!