I spend a lot of time waiting at bus stops and walking around St. Paul, which puts me in a good position to notice burned out streetlights, walk/don't walk lights, and so on. (Admittedly, I don't tend to notice potholes unless they're in the middle of a pedestrian crosswalk.) But reporting them has always been a bit tricky because I have to remember to do so when I'm at a computer, and then remember where the problem was and how best to describe it. With this app, I can report a problem right then and there, and even take a picture of it, if that would help, and I bet the phone can tell the city exactly where the problem is. Majorly cool.
Apparently some things get fixed more quickly than others. I know that in the past, when I've reported a burned-out streetlight, it's been fixed within 24 hours. Judging from this app, though, the potholes are going to be with us for a while. But it won't be from ignorance of their existence: there are some dedicated pothole observers in this area. I tapped on every red pin you see here, and each one of them is a complaint about a pothole, some confirmed by as many as eight people (who all have this app? am I the last person in St. Paul to have heard of it?). I think some of these potholes have been fixed by now, though, so I'm wondering how often the city updates its information.
I foresee getting a lot of use out of this app. Although I probably still won't be much good at noticing potholes.
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