LAist: 3-1-1 To Get Partly Disconnected

josh

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:50:26 -0800

Come on, you write like some grave injustice is about to happen and the city will be worse off for this decision. I'm sure it'll be great when CSRS is implemented but my experience with the 311 system has been great so far. The loss of the graveyard shift is far more of a concern to me. The last time I called 311 was around 11pm, when I noticed a sewer grate that had broken in half, fallen into the sewer and left a dangerous pit in the road. As I finished the call, a car pulled up. I signaled the driver and yelled "don't park here!!" He didn't listen and the front corner of the car dropped into the sewer. He backed out, car looked ok. I pulled down one of those signs used to direct film crew to sets and set it up like a warning cone. The grate was fixed by noon the next day. It'll be nice to get all the departments automated on the same system, but until then I'm sure we'll be fine.

Zach Behrens

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:35:47 -0800

Thanks for the commetn ubrayj02. Just to clarify, DWP's Private Lighting program does still exist. And if you are referrning to the 50/50 Sidewalk Repair program, that still exists too, but it has been so successful, there is a waiting list and they might have cut the waiting list off until this next budget year. Or maybe I am not aware, did they cut 50/50 and Private Lighting in this year's budget? I did not see that.

ubrayj02

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:18:04 -0800

Gah! This is like the 50/50 thing the Bureau of Street Services got rid of (neighbors put up 50% of the funds, and the BSS takes care of their problem). Or the LADWP's crime-fightin' public lighting thing (you pay a small monthly fee, and the LADWP puts up a light on one of their poles to illuminate a dark area). The programs that work, sometimes get killed with extreme prejudice. Our local government in L.A. is not always designed to serve us - I guess this is just one more example of that. It is designed to keep people working for the city employed, and to let the winners in our city keep winning. The rest of us can get stuffed.