Happy Friday, SeeClickFixers! With the seasons changing and our daylight hours dwindling, TGIF(ixed) this week is focused on fixes that have helped shed some light on city streets this week. From burnt-out street lights to broken traffic signals, these newly closed issues have SeeClickFix users saying TGIF(ixed), just in time for the dark winter months.

Although we just announced our partnership with Marshall, Michigan yesterday, the city has been hard at work fixing issues before we shared the good news! On Tuesday, the Marshall Electric Department repaired not one, not two, but three broken streetlights reported to SeeClickFix, one of which had been out since July!

An impossibly short green light in the Annex neighborhood of New Haven was causing serious traffic down a major road. Tired of the bumper-to-bumper conditions caused by the short light, Jean McAulay reported Issue #125326 through the SeeClickFix widget on the New Haven Register website. She wrote:

The green light on Rt. 1, Forbes Avenue, at the intersection of Wheeler street is only on for 15 seconds, causing backups every morning and evening rush hour. In the evening traffic is backed up all the way to the bridge because of this light. This is the only light that stays on for such a short time all the way to Woodward Avenue, and there is never any cross traffic at the light so there is no reason for the green light to be so short when so much traffic backs up!

The Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking quickly responded to let Jean know that the traffic signal was state controlled. Shortly after, another commenter said that she had passed the complaint along to CT DOT. Friday morning, Jean closed the issue and shared with SeeClickFixers that the traffic light had been fixed!


What better way to start (or end) Friday (or any day, really) than by closing a fixed issue on SeeClickFix? We're not sure either.

Marshall, MI (September 29, 2011) - Today, Director of Public Services Carl Fedders announces a new partnership that will allow residents to report non-emergency issues and request city services through an online and mobile platform. Powered by SeeClickFix, the place-based reporting platform allows residents to document neighborhood concerns and improvements alike, ranging from potholes and graffiti to tree requests and broken streetlights.

“With this comprehensive and accessible platform, we’re able to increase our efficiency when responding to constituent service requests and improve the city’s infrastructure along the way,” Fedders said. “More important, we’re hoping SeeClickFix will empower our citizens to become actively engaged with each other, their neighborhoods, and local government.”

Through SeeClickFix, residents can report quality-of-life concerns through service request categories via the city web site, custom mobile phone applications (iPhone, Android, Blackberry), SeeClickFix.com, and/or the SeeClickFix Facebook app. When submitting issues via mobile app, for example, residents can provide locational, descriptive, and photographic information as they see the issue in real time. Once the resident submits an issue, the reporter, the city, and anyone ‘watching’ the area will receive alerts. The city of Marshall can then acknowledge the service request, route it to the proper department, and update the request—and residents following the issue—once it’s been resolved.

“We expect a very positive response from our citizens because SeeClickFix will not only highlight the city’s emphasis on holding itself accountable, but also help improve the quality of life for citizens,” said Tom Tarkiewicz, City Manager. “It will further enhance the lines of communication between local government and the citizens it serves.

The partnership allows residents to not only report community issues, but also view, comment on, and vote to fix problems submitted by others through SeeClickFix’s interactive maps. Citizens can even create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about all issues reported in their neighborhood or city, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests and not just the ones they report.

“We’re excited to see how Marshall promotes citizen involvement and enacts offline results with our technology,” said Ben Berkowitz, SeeClickFix CEO. “With the online and mobile platform, we place the power directly in the hands of the city’s residents.”

The Marshall SeeClickFix website can be found here and residents can download iPhone, Android, and Blackberry apps here.

Staff will be presenting more information to City council at the October 3rd work session at six PM inside the council chambers located at 323 W. Michigan Avenue.

About SeeClickFix
SeeClickFix allows citizens anywhere in the world to report and monitor non-emergency community issues ranging from potholes and planted trees to garbage and graffiti. Launched in 2008, it empowers citizens, community groups, media organizations, and governments to work together and improve their neighborhoods. Through mobile web, web, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry apps, the SeeClickFix platform is the most widely-distributed citizen reporting tool in the country. The platform is fun and easy to use for citizens while being inexpensive and easily adaptable for governments. Over 40 percent of issues reported on SeeClickFix are ultimately resolved. For more information or to report an issue, visit www.seeclickfix.com.

Street Fight has just announced the line-up for Street Fight Summit, a two-day conference in New York City on October 25-26 where industry leaders from companies like SeeClickFix, Yipit, Foursquare, Gilt City, Patch, and Topix will convene to discuss the burgeoning hyperlocal marketplace.

Our own Kam Lasater (@seekayel), SeeClickFix co-founder, will be a featured speaker at the summit where he will discuss alternative revenue models. With old media trying to figure out how to save their local markets and small indie blogs feeling indignant about corporate media encroaching on their space, all parties have a big stake in the business models that will survive in the hyperlocal marketplace. Attendees of the Street Fight Summit will hear from industry leaders, such as Lasater, who are blazing the path to sustainable hyperlocal business.

Tomorrow afternoon, The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County and the Fairfield County Community Foundation are hosting a special workshop that the SeeClickFix team would definitely encourage you to check out. "How to Adapt When Everything Around You is Changing: A Nonprofit Organization Survival Guide" will be held on Wednesday, September 21 at 4pm at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT.

Brian Reich, author of Shift and Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues In A Connected Society, will be discussing essential strategies about taking advantage of rapidly changing technologies and new communication techniques in a connected society.  In Shift & Reset, Reich explores and addresses some of the serious issues facing our always-on society. His book also features interviews and essays from over leaders in the communication and technology industries, including our very own Ben Berkowitz.

Think it can't get any better? Well, it can! The event is free and open to the public! Reservations are requested and you can save your spot by sending an R.S.V.P. to info@culturalalliancefc.org or by calling 203-256-2329.

If you are in or around Fairfield County tomorrow afternoon, we definitely recommend checking out this event! 

Cars running a stop sign in Brooklyn, New York. Congestion on a bridge in Portland, Oregon. A deep pothole in Chicago, Illinois. These are three of thousands of issues that have been reported by SeeClickFix users frustrated with the state of our roads. Whether driving on the highway in Washington, DC or riding along a Boston bike lane, it's clear that our users are giving roads failing grades from coast to coast. With this in mind, SeeClickFix is on a mission with Audi of America to smarten up our roads.

This partnership is part of a larger initiative called The Road Frustration Index (RFI). Developed by Audi and the SENSEable City lab at M.I.T, the RFI aims to quantify the many factors that lead to driver frustration - such as traffic, incidents, weather and driver sentiment. Data collected through the RFI will be used to help give motorists a better sense of the driving conditions they face each day in American metropolitan areas.

Not all roads are created equal, and for those frustrated drivers who want to know what city streets are better or worse off than their own will find the Road Frustration Index to be a handy tool.  The RFI allows drivers to see exactly how their city streets stack up compared to roads in other metropolitan areas. Whether you want to compare traffic in Los Angeles and New York City, or size up driver sentiment in Sacramento versus Houston, the RFIs interactive tools make it easy to examine the frustrations drivers around America face on the road every day.


Audi and the SENSEable City lab at M.I.T use real-time data from sources such as Weather.com, Twitter and NAVTEQ to help drivers navigate roads across the country, without having to step foot into a car. The total RFI score for a city can change throughout the course of a day is determined by quantifying incoming data about road conditions.


After you've checked out the RFI score for your city you may be asking "what's next?". This is where SeeClickFix comes in. SeeClickFix believes our partnership with Audi will help empower more people to advocate for their city streets to be fixed. Drivers can publicly report problems they see on-the-go*, helping to transform roads in their community from frustrating to fixed.

Check out the Road Frustration Index and be sure to let us know how your city stacks up. Want to help your hometown earn the bragging rights of being the least frustrating place to drive? Improve the RFI score by reporting that nasty pothole or congested stretch of road to SeeClickFix and help us smarten up the road!

*We love our mobile apps, but do not report on-the-go while driving! Driving and operating a phone is not only frustrating, it's dangerous.

I was struck this week by the geographical distribution of the ten employees of SeeClickFix. In 5 days our small team has been spread over three continents and 10 events helping to spread the word about open government, greater civic participation and the platform that can make it happen.

Last week I attended #Picnic11 in Amsterdam as panelist in a conversation about civic platforms with IStrategy Labs, Code For America and the City of Boston. Today Megan leaves for Bogota, Columbia for her first trip out of the country to speak at Social Media Week Bogota. Kam participated in an event at MIT this weekend, attended an OSF event in NYC last night and is attending and Omidyar event today in NYC. I will be there as well but will also be attending the announcement of the historic Open Government Partnership at Google.  Jeff Mooney is attending the International City Managers Association event in Wisconsin and Jason is brushing up on his mobile skills at the Appcelerator event in San Diego.  To round out the week I leave for Boulder, CO tomorrow where I will be graciously hosted by the Mayor of Boulder for the Meeting of The Minds event.

SeeClickFix entered the double digit head count this month with the hire of Dan Bernier, our new Rails Engineer.  It's weeks like this that remind us how much reach a small team can have with such a powerful platform.

Keep Hustlin' Team!

When a repair made by the city led to a huge headache for Charlotte, NC homeowner Ralph Bruce, SeeClickFix media partner WBTV stepped in to shine a light on his report and resolve the issue once and for all.

Ralph reported issue #116088 - The city did not repair my driveway after repairing a water pipe - after a city repair left his driveway, as well as his street, in shambles.

The city came out to repair a busted water pipe in front of my driveway. They had to break up my driveway to get to the pipe and has not repaired my driveway. I have made over ten calls to no avail. The crew that came out said that the city would have to contract a company out through the water department to repair the problem because of a brick wall that surround the driveway and the yard. The city not only left my driveway a mess but the street as well. Red mud is still in street because the cleaning crew did not do a good job cleaning the street. Please help me get the city back out to my house to correct this problem.

WBTV morning anchor John Carter was alerted of this issue thanks to the watch area and interactive widgets implemented by the outlet. He quickly got to work by contacting the city to see what could be done to address Ralph's driveway.


On August 16th, John reported an update to WBTV viewers on their morning broadcast.

I contacted the city and got a very fast response from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utility Department. I'm told the city's asphalt/concrete contractor is scheduled to work on the driveway this week. The contractor wasn't able to get out there sooner due to other street restorations, according to the city. So the problem should be fixed this week.

We'll certainly keep you updated.

Unfortunately for Ralph, the week passed without a fix and his driveway was still a disaster.  As one week turned into two weeks and then three weeks, he again posted to SeeClickFix to let WBTV and WBTV viewers know the problem continued.



On Monday, thanks to Ralph's report and the persistence of WBTV, John Carter reported the update they had promised on their August 16th broadcast.

...as of today, the driveway is being fixed. Crews were out Monday making the repairs.

But what took so long?

While WBTV will be looking into why this fix took so long to complete, SeeClickFixer Ralph is happy to be saying TGIF(ixed)!


Can you think of a better way to kick-off your weekend? We didn't think so! A HUGE thank you to our superstar media partner WBTV for bringing us this amazing TGIF(ixed) issue. The whole SeeClickFix team is looking forward to hearing more updates and seeing more issues fixed thanks to your hard work!

Last Saturday, SeeClickFix teamed with the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, the New Haven Parks Department, and other volunteers from around The Elm City to clean up a community eyesore. The Irving Gas station near the corner of Whalley Avenue and West Rock Avenue is nestled between two of New Haven's most prized public spaces - The West River Trail and Edgewood Park. Despite it's beautiful surrounds, the gas station has been severely neglected, with trash and weeds piling up along its shared border with the West River Trail for several years.

Increasingly frustrated with the state of the blighted property, SeeClickFix co-founder and Beaver Hills resident Jeff Blasius helped to spearhead the cleanup. Nearly a year after he posted Issue #46787 - Trash & Weeds - Jeff and nearly 20 other volunteers geared up to address the problem once and for all.

The Japanese Knotweed was taller than the volunteers clearing it!

Armed with pruning shears and some heavy-duty gardening equipment, volunteers cleared the invasive Japanese Knotweed off the West River Trail path and from around the riverbed. Others worked to pick up the years of garbage and broken glass strewn throughout the station grounds. Park Rangers from the New Haven Parks Department hiked up and down the West River next to the property to pull out all of the garbage that had collected there. Needless to say, there was a lot of work to be done and everyone kept busy!

Yes, that is a TV. Yes, we pulled it out of the West River. Yes, it's disgusting.

Within three hours, our teams had filled over 10 reusable dumpsters with weeds, trash and debris. The dumpsters and disposal of everything we cleaned was very generously donated by Westville company BullBag. As you can see below, we definitely needed a pretty big hand getting rid of everything...

Cleanup muscle c/o BullBag

While there is still work to be done at this location, SeeClickFix is proud to have been part of a huge first step towards fixing this problem for good. Our team will be working with WVRA and the New Haven Parks Department on future projects at this location, so check back here frequently for updates on how you can get involved too!

SeeClickFix co-founder Jeff couldn't be happier to see his issue being fixed.

We have some pretty exciting news, folks! SeeClickFix proudly announces its integration with Boston's work order system through its new Open 311 API. The connection--which went live on Friday--will enable citizens to communicate service requests directly into the city's existing CRM by reporting issues through the SeeClickFix platform:

• Website (Available at SeeClickFix.com/Boston)
• Widgets (Embedded on Boston.com Your Town pages)
• Mobile app (iPhone, Android, Blackberry)
• Facebook App 

Having already been launched in San Francisco and Washington, DC, Open311 refers to a 'standardized technology for location-based collaborative issue tracking,' or an open source data platform for 311 service requests. Through this open model, citizens can instantly provide more information to those responsible and help improve the city's environment along the way. More important, it empowers and engages the public to actively participate in civil society.

From now on, any issue reported through SeeClickFix's online and mobile interface will be fed directly into Boston's existing 311 system. With Open311 implemented, SeeClickFix can fully interact with and connect into the city's work order system. This SeeClickFix-Open311 connection gives Boston residents yet another channel through which they can report non-emergency concerns. With a few clicks, citizens can provide locational, descriptive, and photographic information about quality-of-life issues from potholes and graffiti to damaged signs and sidewalk patches. Once the resident submits an issue, it will  be communicated not only to the city, but also to the citizens it serves. With SeeClickFix's public platform, everyone can be kept informed in real time. The SeeClickFix-Open311 connection would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of SeeClickFix cofounder/CSO Kam Lasater.

This weekend SeeClickFix is teaming up with the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance to clean up an important gateway to Westville Village and to the West River Trail. Read all about our efforts below and come help us close Issue #120165 - Clean up the West River Trail - Saturday, September 10, from 9:30AM - 11:30AM!

WHAT? A community cleanup to improve the West River trail at the intersection of Whalley Avenue in the Westville neighborhood of New Haven. Volunteers are needed to assist with:

• Sweeping litter that collects along the edge of the paved trail.

• Trimming the Japanese Knotweed that grows over the trail.

• Sweeping the sidewalk along Whalley as it approaches the intersection of Whalley and the West River.

• Pulling debris from the river and river bank that hasn't been carried downstream by Hurricane Irene, including metal signs.

WHEN and WHERE? Saturday, September 10, from 9:30AM to 11:30AM. Volunteers will meet at the gazebo in Edgewood Park near the corner of Whalley and West Rock Ave. Convenient parking is just off West Rock Avenue in Edgewood Park, near the gazebo.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR? Sturdy boots, sneakers or wellingtons and socks to protect against poison ivy and no-see-ums, insect repellent and work gloves.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING? If you have it, bring a good broom, or litter grabber. Check with us later this week to see what we still need, including shovels or pruning sheers. Bringing along family and friends is also definitely encouraged!

SHOULD I RSVP? Yes! Please shoot us an email at contact@seeclickfix.com to let us know that you're coming, or if you have any questions or concerns we can address.

Happy Friday, SeeClickFixers! It's been a busy week here at SCF World HQ, but we've made it through and are glad to be saying TGIF! This week, our TGIF(ixed) issue comes from Maureen in Rockville, Maryland, who helped a neighbor by getting a potentially dangerous dead tree removed.

When phone calls and web forms proved to be fruitless for her neighbor,  Maureen turned to SeeClickFix and reported Issue #119349 - Dead tree removal. 

my neighbor has been trying to get a dead tree removed since last fall but since it's under the power lines and on county property, both PEPCO and the county think it's someone else job. PEPCO only trims branches. The tree is on a street that borders an elementary school, children walk under it and it's so dead the bark is peeling off it.

What went unnoticed for nearly a full year when reported the old-fashioned way was resolved amazingly fast thanks to Maureen's report. Within one week of SeeClickFixin' her neighbors dead tree, she was able to close the issue with a great update!

It's only fitting that our TGIF(ixed) issue of the week hails from the State of Maryland, where officials recently embraced our social platform to help citizens throughout Hurricane Irene. SeeClickFix is thrilled to see this, and many other issues across the Chesapeake Bay State get fixed through our platform.

We hope everyone has a great weekend and can't wait to say TGIF(ixed) to your issues again next week!

By Jacob Apkon, Superstar SeeClickFix Intern

After seeing a 40% increase in population in just five years, the Leduc city government recognized the need to address the multitude of traffic challenges caused by this drastic increase in population. Local officials wanted to engage residents and encourage them to voice their opinions on ways to improve the flow of traffic. Luckily, there's an app (and online platform) for that!

On July 22, 2011, the City of Leduc (Alberta, Canada) announced its “Transportation Master Plan,” a way for citizens of the city to suggest ideas, solutions, and opinions based on four major categories: vehicle congestion, transit improvements, walking and cycling improvements, and other transportation related issues. Anyone is able to go on to their website and enter a suggestion or solution on how to improve transportation using the SeeClickFix map.

In less than one month, over 15 suggestions have been made. Leduc also offered a physical map of the city during one of the its festivals, so people without access to Internet or people who may have not seen the website were able to submit suggestions.

Earlier this year, Huntsville, AL also allowed citizens to suggest improvements to the city using SeeClickFix’s platform. The City of Huntsville used SeeClickFix to decide what stores and businesses to bring to town based on the citizens’ suggestions.

While Leduc is not the first city to use SeeClickFix’s maps as a platform to hear the suggestions of the citizens in order to improve the city, Leduc certainly expanded on the idea by allowing the people to voice their opinions on what the city could physically change, not just what the city could add. Hopefully, Leduc’s example will be replicated in the future, and cities will turn to the SeeClickFix map to hear suggestions and opinions on how to improve the city not just what needs fixing.

Chelsea, MA (August 30, 2011)- Non-emergency complaints can now be delivered with the click of a mouse thanks to a new service being offered by the City of Chelsea. This week, City Manager Jay Ash and members of the City Council announced that the City had entered into a contract with SeeClickFix to provide a place-based reporting platform that allows residents to document neighborhood concerns and needs, like potholes, graffiti, trash and overgrown vegetation.

“This is another great use of technology to help us connect with and better address the needs of residents,” stated Council President Vega.

“We continue to look for ways of connecting government with the governed, and SeeClickFix offers a great tool to engage residents and others in helping government to be more responsive and efficient,” added Manager Ash.

SeeClickFix allows citizens anywhere in the world to report and monitor non-emergency community issues ranging from potholes and planted trees to garbage and graffiti. Launched in 2008, it empowers citizens, community groups, media organizations, and governments to work together and improve their neighborhoods. Through mobile web, web, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry apps, the SeeClickFix platform is the most widely distributed citizen reporting tool in the country. SeeClickFix is pleased to be offering the service in Chelsea.

“With this announcement, we’re honored to add Chelsea to our growing list of municipal partners in the commonwealth and across the nation,” said Ben Berkowitz, SeeClickFix CEO. “Our decentralized platform will help connect the city's residents with each other and their government—strengthening the lines of communication and transforming quality of life for everyone along the way.”

With the online reporting platform, individuals can report quality-of-life concerns through custom service request categories via SeeClickFix.com, Facebook, or a mobile application. Those reporting can simply click on one of the options to report a problem, and can also provide more details and even an image of their observation. Once someone submits an issue, the reporter and the City will receive email notifications. The City can then acknowledge the service request, route it to the proper department, and update the issue page once it has been resolved. Throughout the process, the reporter is kept notified of the progress the City is making to resolve the complaint.

“SeeClickFix is one way that we can improve our communication with the people we serve while also addressing issues in a timely fashion as they arise,” said Councillor Leo Robinson.

“By allowing the public to email us issues with pictures, our DPW or ISD can quickly assess the priority of the issues. This will help us be better informed and quicker to respond,” added Councillor Calvin Brown.

The partnership allows residents to not only report community issues, but also view, comment on, and vote to fix problems submitted by others. Citizens can even create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about issues reported throughout the city or just in their neighborhood, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests.

“This is another way we’re empowering the public to help us identify issues and hold us accountable for our actions,” suggested Councillor Brian Hatleberg. “It’s exactly what a transparent government should be doing more of.”

Over 40 percent of issues reported on SeeClickFix are ultimately resolved. Ash says the City will strive to do even better.

“Our department heads will prioritize the resolution of issues raised through SeeClickFix. Some will take longer to resolve, but all will get our attention,” concluded Ash.