filed in Daily Life
Civic Engagement
In Los Angeles, there is an online interface for residents to request city services, like bulky item pickups, graffiti removal and pot hole repairs. There’s even a phone app. In April, I reported a ficus hedge down the block that an owner had allowed to get so overgrown, it engulfed the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians onto a dirt parkway. It took 4 months and 12 follow-up phone calls, but it finally got trimmed today. Civic engagement takes patience, but it works.
Illustration by Lee Crutchley
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Two thing:
#1–good for you! I applaud your doing your civic duty.
#2–I am surprised that it took so long, though. Even in my small, economically depressed Midwestern city, I used the online Pothole Reporter and that thing was filled in two weeks. And when a fire hydrant across the street was overgrown with weeds (the hydrant was no longer visible), a single email (admittedly noting the hazard in the event of a fire AND the danger to bicyclists, pedestrians, and cars, due to the lack of visibility) took care of the problem within two weeks. Admittedly, Muncie is a lot(!) smaller than LA, though. And in retrospect, the overgrown bushes/weeds were on a property that the owners had pretty much abandoned, so no homeowner to deal with.
Still, kudos to you for making life easier and safer for pedestrians (that means a lot to me, as I like to walk places whenever possible!) You rock, Wendy!
A big city like L.A. has so many issues. There aren’t enough inspectors to go around, and unfortunately, it’s really about who yells the loudest and the longest.
I called about a burned-out streetlight and it was fixed the next day (that was a private utility company though, NOT the town). We have a joke in our neighborhood, that if you see someone out in their yard who is just standing leaning on their garden tool we say, you look just like a township worker!
Part of the problem is that the hedges were on private property. The city couldn’t trim them. They had to cite the owner, and then the owner had to take care of it. But it still took the city a long time to send out an inspector, and write the letter to the owner.
I think I would have figured any part of the shrub encroaching on public property would be fair game to whack away at! Just taking a walk with some hedge clippers…. Good for you going about things the civilized way 🙂
This was too massive a job for hedge clippers. I’m glad it’s done. And unfortunately, this will be need to be revisted once the hedges grow back.