By Jacob Apkon, Superstar SeeClickFix Intern

After seeing an increase in issues reported on SeeClickFix, Saratoga Springs’ Public Safety Commissioner Richard Wirth now wants to establish a committee to address public traffic concerns, consisting of community members, engineers, and public safety representatives (for example, police officers). That way, Wirth and company can better address SeeClickFix issues raised by Saratoga Springs citizens.

Already a SeeClickFix media partner, the Saratogian regularly reports SeeClickFix issues submitted by citizens to the city and, oftentimes, the city official contacted is Wirth. With the establishment of this committee, Wirth hopes he can get rid of this middle step. The committee would check SeeClickFix directly instead of going through the Saratogian. As Wirth states:

It might be beneficial to have their concerns and inquiries forwarded directly to the commissioner of public safety. There is such an influx of these concerns and we want to look into each one because these apply not only to the city, but also to the county and the state because they can involve their roads.

Reported over a year ago and still receiving SeeClickFix activity, Issue #31661-Intersection of Ballston Ave. and Lincoln Ave involves a traffic light request at an intersection one SeeClickFix user felt was unsafe.
Despite receiving 862 views and 49 votes, this issue still persists according to resident--and SeeClickFix user--Nancy Muldoon. Hopefully, Wirth’s new committee will be able to address and close this traffic concern on SeeClickFix (and others like it!)

It's probably no surprise that the SeeClickFix team loves seeing people collaborate to fix issues. Whether it's neighbors coming together to clean up their block, or citizens working with their local government to find a solution that works for everyone, we just can't get enough! But what about when different agencies within one municipality collaborate for a fix? A graffiti report submitted yesterday by our very own Ben Berkowitz proved to be a great example of how inter-agency accountability can lead to fast (and friendly) fixes!

Issue #118590 - Graffiti - was reported by Ben on his way to SeeClickFix world HQ on Thursday morning. The two tags painted on a bus shelter in the SoHu neighborhood of New Haven were promptly acknowledged by the Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking. While TTP notified the Sign Division about the graffiti, the Town Green District Clean Team had also received a report of the graffiti and set out to take care of it ASAP!

The transparency of our platform allowed two of our clients to quickly and easily communicate about this problem, as well as acknowledge, fix, and close out this issue without hours of it being reported. Upon seeing the exchange between TTP and Win from the Town Green District, Ben summed things up pretty perfectly:
The Town Green District and their lightening fast Clean Team were the first SeeClickFix client ever. The secret to their speed? In addition to receiving alerts about new issues reported throughout New Haven, the team scours our site and arms themselves with print outs of new graffiti reports such as the one below before heading out each day!

A Clean Team member with his SCF print out, taken this morning.

A super huge thanks to the New Haven Town Green District, as well as to the Department of Traffic, Transportation and Parking for supplying us with such an awesome TGIF(ixed) issue this week!

UPDATE: In our excitement to tell you all about our featured fix of the week, we forgot to mention that the graffiti issue above was one of TWO issues the Clean Team took care of in record time on Thursday! Issue #118568 - Graffiti - is closed! Impressive? TOTALLY! 

The weekend is here, friends! This week on TGIF(ixed), we wanted to quickly share two awesome fixes that came to us through the wonders of the Twitterverse.

After closing a pothole issue he reported in Seattle, WA a few months earlier, SeeClickFixer Mike Spear shared the good news with his Twitter followers!






Bryce Roberts from O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, who reported graffiti (see picture below) under the Team OATV account, saw his issue get fixed fast! 

Weak graffiti

Think this edition of TGIF(ixed) was as weak as the graffiti Bryce reported? Help us out next week by sending us your fixed issues! Leave a comment here, post it on our Facebook, or (of course) tell us in 140 characters by tweeting @seeclickfix.

This just in: our media partners are awesome.

Okay, so while this information might not be breaking news, it's definitely true! Since our launch in 2008, hundreds of media outlets have partnered with SeeClickFix to help empower their audience, improve their communities and generate unique, hyperlocal content. Not only that, media outlets utilizing SeeClickFix have played a significant part in helping us happily say that over 50% of issues reported through our online platform have been resolved offline. From The Washington Post to the 18 dailies published by the Journal Register Company, some big names in news are SeeClickFixin'! While you may not have heard of our latest media partner, we think you'll be just as excited as we are about them!

Keizertimes, the newspaper in Keizer, OR, is a weekly publication and news site focused solely on news and events within the Keizer community. With a staff of two full time employees, Keizertimes will be using our platform to engage their readers while improving Keizer, one fix at a time. The paper launched SeeClickFix late last week and published a story about our partnership in the August 1 edition. After helping managing editor Jason Cox get set up with our widgets and sharing examples of how powerful media can be in getting issues fixed, we were thrilled that he shared our same enthusiasm with his readers.

“This partnership goes hand-in-hand with our commitment to increasing civic participation and covering Keizer like no one else can,” said Managing Editor Jason Cox. “We’re happy to provide our readers this service and allow them an easy, anonymous way to report issues in their community.”

Adding to our excitement about our partnership, Keizertimes staff will be following up with local officials about issues in their area and reporting on the progress of fixes to their readers concerns. Citizens, media and local government working together to solve problems and improve their community - it doesn't get any better than this, folks!

"Think of it as a digital 311 system." At least, that's how our newest media partner, The Terminal, described SeeClickFix after recently embedding our nifty widget on its website.

Launched in 2007, The Terminal is a web publication focused on disseminating information in and about Birmingham and surrounding areas. With the old Birmingham Terminal Station as its namesake, The Terminal has become a modern and virtual social hub of its own. Thanks to managing editor (and friend!) André Natta, SeeClickFix will now be adding to this public dialogue in BHAM. André nicely summarizes how his fellow citizens (and media outlets) can take advantage of our tool:

Non-emergencies reported via the widget embedded on our site or via any of the mobile apps available are shared directly with City Hall’s 311 Call Center [...] The more folks using the service, the more effective it can be. Video and photo submissions are also accepted. Selfishly, it also provides an opportunity for local media outlets to get an idea of what’s going on out there (though nothing really replaces face-to-face – or just getting out there – but it helps).

With SeeClickFix widgets, media outlets can be kept informed about issues directly impacting the communities they serve in real-time. By allowing residents to report issues directly through its site, The Terminal can connect with its audience over these shared concerns and even lead to resolution along the way. Like André said, it's time to SeeClickFix Birmingham!

Photo courtesy of Thomas MacMillan

Back in early May, we told you about the CommunitiesTakeRoot contest and its mission to revitalize public spaces nationwide by providing neighborhoods with their very own fruit orchards. Well, it looks like one fruit orchard will be taking root right here in the Elm City!

According to the New Haven Independent, the Friends of Edgewood Park won the new fruit orchard for its namesake after mustering over 30,000 votes during the competition. Sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, the grant will provide 44 new fruit trees in the 123-acre park,  "returning a vital resource to one of the city’s true treasures." From growing fresh, nutritious fruit to improving air and water quality, this orchard can provide a healthier and more vibrant community for all New Haven citizens.

An organizer of the effort, Jessica Feinlab said “We will either plant the trees this Fall or next spring based on volunteer interest and getting a water source to the site"(tentative planting around Labor Day). Even better? The city agreed to match the award by planting the same number of fruit trees across the city!

We're honored the Friends of Edgewood Park used SeeClickFix (Issue #95410 - Vote for a Fruit Trees Orchard in Edgewood Park!) to help raise awareness about its participation in this delicious competition. The SeeClickFix team looks forward to getting its hands dirty in the coming weeks!

Another guest post from Kevin Donohue, SCF Superstar Intern!

Check out this article about SeeClickFix in a recent edition of GEOconnexion International Magazine. GEOconnexion is a popular publication for Geospatial professionals around the world, and this article focuses on the technology we use that makes it really easy for you to draw attention to issues at precise locations in your neighborhood.

This is of course a very cool feature of our service, and we’re happy that GEOconnection has drawn attention to it. However, there is also a quick nod to an important element of SeeClickFix that we want to highlight: the benefit to the bottom line our services provide to municipalities looking to maximize their resources. Describing how we enable clients to keep track of the history of local repairs, “such as evaluating areas with unusually high maintenance requirements to determine possible causes and take preventative measures if appropriate,” the author writes, “This allows the city to maintain the public assets it is responsible for in a cost-effective manner.”

More cities are saying "goodbye" to graffiti with SeeClickFix!

SeeClickFix is often thought of as an easy way for communities to come together to address their shared challenges, and as a way for municipalities to become more responsive to their constituents. While these are definitely true, the cost savings this creates for local governments can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. The example offered in the GEOconnexion article is only the latest demonstration of this.

Consider Issue #115607 - Graffiti - which was reported 6 days ago in New Haven, and closed by our Town Green District shortly thereafter. In order to handle this before SeeClickFix, the city may have used an old fashioned 311 system, or they may have just come across it through pursuing other business. Now, they know exactly where the graffiti is, as well as what it looks like and how many people are waiting for a fix. The efficient transmission of information frees up resources that can be deployed elsewhere, allowing cities to serve their citizens for less.