At the SFBC new-members meet and greet on Tuesday, I was reminded of something cool: 311. Meeter/greeter Kate said if ever there’s a bike lane obstructed by glass or junk or potholes or illegally parked cars, call 311, identify yourself as an SFBC member, and explain the problem. So, I did.
Five minutes on the phone, guy took all the pertinent info, and told me the asphalt spillage in both northbound and southbound bike lanes on San Jose Avenue between 29th and 30th (that’d been forcing me into rush-hour traffic all week) would be policed within 48 hours. Forty-seven hours later, all clean!
I called for a bunch of nails on the road and they got them later that day. Pretty impressive. I hope the budget troubles don’t kill the program.
Dude, I just figured out I can control the direction of the snow with my mouse. That makes the 75% of the CPU it’s using almost worth it.
this is also who you call to get DPW to pick up random piles of garbage, or old abandoned furniture, or human feces.
the budget cuts are apparently eliminating two 311 operators…which they quote as saving something like 300K (maybe that’s hyperbole, but not by much from what i read), which makes the whole budget thing seem about as kosher as the rest of SF politics. meaning, about as kosher as bacon with a side of lobster.
but it’s true…311 ain’t a joke in this town. folks are usually pretty nice. i call em like twice a week.
ANOTHER number to know about is: 553-0123…that’s SFPD non emergency dispatch. that’s who you call to get the cruiser to come by and shoo away whatever bum or crackhead or hooker or indignant yuppie might be camped out on your corner. and they usually come pretty quick.
and hey…i CAN control the snow. call me snow miser.
oh, zinzin… you can’t help but complain about poor people… even when it’s completely unrelated to the topic at hand, can you?
nope. i just can’t help it.
but really, it’s not exactly unrelated. numbers to call to fix problems.
happy holidays!
Hey, Alan. As long as you’re at it, would you mind joining me in sending e-mail to Captain Denis O’Leary, Ingleside Station, Denis.O’Leary@sfgov.org, to ask him to send officers out between 5.15pm and 6.15pm to keep people from driving in the southbound bike lanes on San Jose/Guerrero from 27th Street to Randall? It’s getting out of hand these days; and it’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens. The bike lanes are 6′ wide – not enough to accommodate a moving vehicle and the opening of a parked car door. Alternatively, call Ingleside Station after 4.15pm, and ask for the Night Watch Sargeant: 404-4000. Thanks for biking San Jose/Guerrero!
I’ll join you.
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