Edmonton 311 4+

The app disappears from my IPhone but the App Store makes it seem to be on my phone.

This is a terrible app. I really hate writing this because the app has great potential but the implementation is terrible. Here’s an example:

There’s a massive pothole on a neighbourhood street. I want to use the app to report it and get it fixed. First, it’s not possible for a user to see if this issue has already been reported. You can o my see “recent” reports. It’s not clear how recent a report must be to be visible in the app. So I check recent reports, see no indication the pothole is reported, and now take the time to document and submit a report about the pothole.

The city does look at these reports. I know this because the status of my report changed. A couple days after reporting, my submission changes to “closed” because a duplicate report exists. Would have been nice to know this before reporting! Would also have been nice if they would link your report which they are closing to the original report! Now it’s impossible for me to track what, if anything, has been done.

It’s been two months now. The pothole is still there. This isn’t some small pothole easily avoided it covers half the entire street. After two months the city has done nothing. So I’m sorry to say that while this app has potential, the implementation is terrible and it seems like the city will just do nothing about potholes anyways.

I will say it’s worthwhile being literate when you submit a complaint. Check the details and make sure they’re accurate before you hit send. The GPS is not pinpoint accurate and sometimes choosing the right complaint category is a little annoying. So … 4 stars, the interface could be easier.

Having said that, we’ve submitted complaints for broken sidewalks, overgrown weeds, and abandoned vehicles and they’ve all been responded to effectively.