Oakley offers On-Demand program to fix potholes, graffiti

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

One of my new favorite television commercials is for the Geico emergency road service where the pothole talks about calling a wrecker when a driver gets a flat tire. You know that guy in the car is just dying to call the city and have them fix that pothole. The city of Oakley is now making it easier for residents and those who are just driving through town to let them know when they have a similar problem.

Earlier this year the city introduced a new service that is connected to their Oakley-On-Demand program. Next time you see a pothole that needs filling or graffiti making a mess of your neighborhood, you can simply take a picture of the problem and with the help of a special application, contact the city for service.

The new service is called GORequest and it is primarily for the iPhone. The service is as easy as opening the free application on your phone, selecting your issue and taking a picture using the phone.
Thanks to the application's GPS scanning capabilities the application sends to the location to the nearest city that can fix the problem.

This service isn't open to every city. Currently, only Oakley and Pittsburg offers the service in East County, but the idea behind the program is a good one. For years people have complained they have no idea whom to contact with problems such as potholes, graffiti or even a busted streetlight, but the Internet has opened so many doors for people that this type of service is just going to be the tip of the iceberg in the future.

Keep in mind, though, that just because you request for a repair to be made doesn't mean it will happen the same day, but according to Reggie Decker, who helped coordinate the new system for Oakley, the program has a tracking system so those who make the complaints can go online and see the progress of the repair.

"This is really a big help for the city as well as the residents," Decker said. "It will save the city money, make the turnaround time for repairs less and have fewer jobs slip between the cracks."
The iPhone application can allow residents to make several different reports to the city, according to Decker — including letting the city know about other ordinance issues such as loud barking dogs, lawns with too tall weeds, street sweepers and several more options.

"It's a pretty cool program," Decker said.

For those who don't have an iPhone, early last summer the city started Oakley-On-Demand, a website offering local residents a chance to find answers to questions like whom to call, what kind of forms to fill out and what are the regulations that pertain to them on neighborhood and community issues.

There is a database filled with questions and answers on everything you can possibly think of including regulations on what is needed to install a pool and spa in your backyard and what are the regulations about parking an RV in your driveway.

The site is available 24/7 so you don't have to worry about remembering the city's office hours or which day is furlough Friday. It can be found at www.oakleyinfo.com.
Decker said that the city is overhauling their regular website and hopes to have the new and improved site up at the end of this month. It never hurts to take a tour and see everything the city has to offer.
Their site is located at http://ci.oakley.ca.us/.
Roni Gehlke is an Oakley resident. Reach her at ourbackyard@comcast.net.