DC Government

“Dear PoP,

Hazards on the streets and sidewalks are nothing new in DC, but when new obstacles develop it can be a painful experience for pedestrians. This sign on Q street NW near 14th is one such example. While walking with friends last night, I happened to look down to check a message on my phone, when BAM! I smacked into the bent sign pole. There is a debate about the problem of distracted pedestrians, however one expects to have a relatively free and clear path on the sidewalk. Hazards such as broken, low-hanging signs, and sinkholes can be dangerous and even deadly to the visually impaired, joggers, and yes, even to those distracted momentarily with phones, groceries, and pets. We should all be alert on the streets for such hazards, but sometimes when our senses fail us, it can lead to a painful impact.

DC is rife with hazards popping up on the roads and in neighborhoods, as covered many times by PoP. Often times the city government finds itself behind the curve in identifying, tracking and fixing these hazards. Other cities are meeting the needs of the citizens with innovative technology. The city of Pittsburgh, for example, recently introduced iBurgh, an Apple iPhone app, to help citizens report hazards and document problems on the streets by easily uploading pictures, location and descriptions of problems. DC should look to providing tools, such as iBurgh, to help citizens ensure government is responsive to problems. In the long run these tools will help DC government be more effective and nimble at addressing problems, and it could even save money and headaches by addressing problems before they develop into something worse.

The current web service request site for DC is here.

Info on “iBurgh” is here.”

I have to admit when I first read this I chuckled a bit. But the reader asks a good question – should DC have more up to date technology like the iphone app “iBurgh” to report problems like this?

“Dear PoP,

I am so livid right now I can’t tell if I want to yell or cry. I just brought a brand new Chevy Aveo yesterday. This is my first new car. It is obviously in pristine condition. Until the DC trash collectors came through this morning and collected the garbage. I park my car in a driveway off the alley behind my house. My car is always pulled in well out of the way of anyone driving through the alley. For the last few weeks I have noticed the garbage cans have become increasingly beat up after the garbage collectors come through. The cans are often broken and laying all over the alley so I have to actually get out of my car to move them before I can get to my house.

This morning I came out and there was a can laying down right next to my back bumper. I looked closer and there is a sizable scratch and chip now in the paint on the bumper of my day old car. I called 311 to find out how I can report this claim and they referred me to the claims department in the office of risk management. I called and there was no claims adjuster in the office at the moment. I have been promised a call back within the day though.

Have you gotten any other reports like these. Is this common? What can I do to make sure the message that this is not acceptable actually gets to the garbage collectors themselves and is not just tied up in the office of risk management. Is there someone else I should call and complain to?”

I’m very sorry to hear this. I’ve never owned a brand new car but can imagine how frustrating this must feel. I’ve always ascribed to the notion that cars will get dinged a bit in the city but so soon is understandable painful. Eventually your bumper is going to get dinged up. That just happens. I’m not sure it’s worth going through all the aggravation to fix this damage. I really hope that doesn’t come across as callous. I would be supremely pissed for sure. But this is gonna happen again. Though, it does look like the scratch on the bottom is pretty deep and might be worth fixing. Ed. Note: I’m very good at equivocating…

What do you guys think? Will the city pay to fix this? Anyone have a similar experience?

Ed. Note: Original reader’s name has been changed to “the reader” to maintain anonymity. The above photo was taken Mon. morning showing the Conservation Corps planting the replacement tree.

“Dear PoP,

The District Department of the Environment manages two summer youth job programs, The Mayor’s Green Summer Job Corps (green shirts) and the Mayor’s Conservation Corps (blue shirts). I appreciate the chance to respond to the reader’s concerns. I visited his home Friday along with the Mayor’s Conservation Corps site manager for Park View, Russell Fleming. We take allegations of vandalism (or any misbehavior) seriously, as these undermine one of major the goals of MCC — for the corps members to have a positive relationship with the community around them. We’re sorry to hear about the destruction of a piece of property that had sentimental value for one of our constituents.

Mr. Fleming interviewed all of the Park View corps members, and none has admitted to cutting down the reader’s crepe myrtle. The reader did not see the act take place, but heard about it from a neighbor whose name and address he did not know. I therefore had no way to verify what the neighbor saw. Nonetheless, as a gesture of good faith, DDOE has purchased a new crepe myrtle, and the students will plant it Monday morning with apologies to the reader.

With his larger point, however, I must disagree. Mayor Fenty and DDOE created the largest youth green-summer jobs training program in the country with the goal of giving young people in the District a meaningful, educational work experience. This is a first job for many of our youth. In addition to learning about invasive plant species and the impact of trash on an urban environment, the kids have received training about resume writing and interviewing, education about energy efficiency and conservation, a seminar on urban and park planning, and information about sexually-transmitted diseases (including an HIV test if desired). When the youth misbehave, as some in a group of thousands inevitably will, they’re subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from the program. With regard to complaints about the corps members not actually working, it’s important for me to point out that they do take breaks during the work day, and depending on their age, are dismissed as early as 1 p.m. We do not require corps members to remove their blue shirts when they’re not on the clock. Nonetheless, anyone with a concern about the behavior of any of our students should contact us immediately — information is below.

If you ask any of the Conservation Corps members about what they’ve learned this summer, they’re likely to tell you they are now unlikely to cause litter themselves, and more likely to spread an anti-littering message to their friends during the school year, as a result of having walked the streets of the District picking up trash in the hot sun. Corps members have also worked extensively with community members on projects the constituents themselves have suggested — including a community garden on Capitol Hill that inspired one resident to write a piece for Hill Rag about it: http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/CCN_Website09/publication%20html/papers/HR/0809/UrbanGardening.html Like the students in Laura Olson’s article, the vast and overwhelming majority of MCC members take great pride in their work. For example, our crew at MM Washington Career High School in Northeast has a scale, and the teams compete with each other to see how much trash they can pick up in a shift. Our DC General teams have a trash quota that they must meet every day.

In short, we want our kids to be busy, and we want them to do the right thing when they’re out in public representing our agency, our District Government, and our Mayor. PoP, if you or your readers have a project to suggest for MCC in the next two weeks, you can call us at (202) 596-4641 or email [email protected]. The same goes if you see a corps member in a blue shirt misbehaving.

For questions or concerns about the Mayor’s Green Summer Job Corps (green shirts), call (202) 535-2600 or email [email protected].

Yours,

Alan Heymann

Director, Public Information

District Department of the Environment