Residents to neighborhood nuisances: smile for the digital camera?

The City announced last week that it's launched an implementation of ComNET -- gov-speak for Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking -- this year, the first such program in N.C.

ComNET was developed by the Center of Municipal Government Performance in New York City; the program provides loaner handheld PDAs with integrated digital cameras to neighborhood groups. Once trained on the devices, residents can walk through their blocks, taking digital pics of potholes, abandoned vehicles and houses, and whathaveyou. Once uploaded to the ComNET system back at City Hall, "priority" items are tracked by City departments and "non-priority" ones by Durham One Call.

It's an intriguing idea. Certainly there's likely to be some (not entirely unfounded) grousing that City departments should be able to pick out potholes by, say, driving over them in their work vehicles every day. (Tip to Solid Waste: They hurt worse when you drive at high speeds.) On the flip side, residents themselves are the most likely to know the persistent, thorny issues they see every day when walking their dogs or driving to work.

There's no word on whether the City will place extra priority on items that come in from ComNET relative to other reports and plans. For instance, I could probably fill up the City's servers with photos of broken, twisted and just plain deadly sidewalks on some of the streets in my neighborhood; on the flip side, the City has a pedestrian plan that will, theoretically, provide replacement and new sidewalks on a priorities list that was established by the workgroup and outside consultants.

Interestingly, according to the folks who developed it in NYC, part of the standard methodology is to have residents conduct follow-up walkaround surveys with the ComNET devices -- to check and see just how much of the problematic potholes and forest-like front yards have been remedied by the City.

Assuming Durham follows-through on the follow-through visit, ComNET could help provide real data about a perception, real or unfounded, that haunts local government in many cities: just how responsive the city is to actually fixing problems once they're reported.

If you're part of a neighborhood association, be sure to sign up with the City for training and perform your first walkthrough. And be sure to ask how quickly you get to walk the streets with the handheld device a second time.

Comments

[Julie Brenman]

Thank you for your post about ComNET. We are looking forward to working with more residents using this new technology and perhaps your post will prompt someone to schedule a survey.

I wanted to elaborate on a few of your comments.

ComNET is not a substitute for routine reports of issues or service requests that need to be addressed. To report these issues, you can call Durham One Call at 560-1200 or report items on line at http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/departments/onecall/online_index.cfm

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to open the floodgates and solicit digital photos of every issue you may encounter. Rather, we will be able to conduct ComNET surveys with interested groups and target specific streets in a neighborhood. As you note, employees and residents alike will find different issues that need to be addressed when they are walking rather than driving and when they are specifically looking for the issues. While all of our employees are asked to report potholes, graffiti, etc., we are hoping by partnering with neighborhoods we will add to the eyes and ears out and about looking for issues.

Issues identified during a ComNET survey will not receive higher priority than issues called in via Durham One Call. However, we do add a level of accountability to the residents by making a commitment as to how quickly the issues will be addressed. In some cases, we also explain that there is a different way of prioritizing the repairs – for example with sidewalk repairs that are already prioritized in the DurhamWalks pedestrian plan. We plan to report back on the status of the identified issues and conduct follow-up surveys if the residents are willing.

Finally, in the ComNET surveys we have already conducted, we find that one of the benefits is that the participating residents gain more insight into who to call and what is under the city’s control. By prioritizing what the City should spend its resources on, we can be more responsive to the issues that are of concern in a particular neighborhood. At the same time, residents may become more engaged in addressing some of the troublesome issues as well. For instance while the City clearly has ownership of pothole repair, residents may decide to organize a neighborhood clean-up to address some of the litter.

Thanks for your interest in ComNET. Folks can call Jay Reinstein in the City Manager’s Office (560-4222 or jay.reinstein@durhamnc.gov) to hear a presentation about ComNET or schedule a neighborhood survey.

Julie Brenman
Director of Strategic Initiatives
julie.brenman@durhamnc.gov