Blackout in Cedar Park. (Photo by Amara Rockar)
Some neighbors in the Cedar Park neighborhood have been struggling to get some of the lights back on in the park. Several street lamps in the park have been dark for a few months. A request to 311 to repair the lights was submitted by neighbor Ryan Briggs on December 17, 2012 but was closed on January 1 when the Streets Department reported that “the light was found burning.” However, the request had been submitted to repair at least three lights and residents are reporting that now all but one of the park lamps are out, which presents a significant safety hazard.
Ryan wrote us and said that 311 now says it’s a Parks and Rec problem.
Another Cedar Park resident, Amara Rockar, also tried to submit an online maintenance request, including photos of the dysfunctional lights. She says that 311 is now telling her via Twitter to submit a new request under a different coding, which, she says, “seems pretty useless if citizens don’t know the exact correct coding for a particular situation.” Calling 311 is also not very effective since you don’t have a paper trail.
So while the struggle between the city and the residents is going on the problem remains unsolved and residents near the park are getting frustrated.
The 311 website is here.
UPDATE: We have received a response from 311 on Twitter:
@westphillylocal Just spoke with mgmt in @PhilaParkandRec. Requests have been received and lights in Cedar Park have been queued for repair.
— Philly311 (@philly311) January 10, 2013
UPDATE 2 (Friday, Jan. 11): We are happy to report that all but one lights in the park were back on last night (see photo below tweeted by Amara Rockar).
January 10th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
I want to request to them, or whoever would be in charge of something like this, that Malcom X Park have more lighting at night. I know it’s a tree-filled area, however, my roommate was jumped in the park a few months ago and it’s so dark that maybe they should have lamps that are a bit lower to brighten the paths!
January 10th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
there was definitely at least one new light on last night in cedar park. it is a whiter, less yellow light.
January 10th, 2013 at 1:27 pm
I was surprised that @Philly311 wasn’t more helpful with Amara’s request because they have also been more than helpful when I’ve asked – even making calls for me when I couldn’t get through to the right staff member and escalating issues for me. But, I’m also feeling all rosy because the L&I issue I’ve been pursuing since September has finally been resolved!
Glad to hear the issue is now in the queue.
January 10th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
When on the 311 (PublicStuff) site, there are a few requests for Cedar Park Lighting. Be sure you support #88208 under the Parks & Recreation category. (Even though the lights are out along the street side of the park, it seems they technically fall under P&R responsibility – not street department.)
January 10th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
@Stephanie – based on the response WPL got to their tweet to @Philly311, it looks taking to twitter yourself might be your best option! If you don’t have an account, it shouldn’t be hard to find a friend who does. Good luck!
January 10th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Even better than calling 311 if you have smartphone is the new Philly 311 mobile app that came out just a few months ago. It lets you upload photos and gives you status updates until it’s done. I just started using it, and it’s working for me. For best response, try to pick the right category, like graffiti, or dumping, or problem with a vacant property, abandoned car, etc. In one case I reported graffiti on a Mural Arts mural, and they said they couldn’t handle that, but they posted the phone number for Mural Arts.
January 10th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for the tip! App downloading!
January 10th, 2013 at 1:51 pm
Thanks everyone!!!!
January 10th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
thanks to P&R for moving to resolve this issue, finally.
January 10th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
@Andy L. Awesome, thanks for the info
January 10th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Great job, WPL!
Calling folks out in the twitterverse has its advantages apparently.
January 11th, 2013 at 9:56 am
With one exception, all of the lights in Cedar Park were back on last night. The 311 system itself can be hit or miss because of user error on either side (still think they should be able to recode or reroute a request instead of requiring a new one) but the person or people who operate the @philly311 Twitter have been uniformly great in my experience.
January 11th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Now we have a serious light pollution problem! (Just kidding. Sort of.)