Website Tries to Solve Neighborhood Problems Fast

A Connecticut-based website is monitoring potholes in Santa Cruz.

SeeClickFix.com looks for more than just potholes – it tries to list and fix every problem that besets an area by having people report them and hoping government will respond if enough people get angry, mobilized and empowered.

"A few local governments have enough sophistication to run functional websites or 311 hot lines," says the company's website. "Most do not have the resources to do much more than brochure-ware."

It claims that putting complaints in writing and sharing them with neighbors can help build a power base to actually get something done.

Santa Cruz is more advanced than many with its web presence, but this site is cataloging problems in such a way that politicians and government workers can't miss them. It brings what may seem like small problems to the light of all readers.

Most recently, a Suburbia Court neighbor reported a speeding truck that killed a cat. Others have complained of trucks cutting through the Marnell-Melrose neighborhood on the hills side of Highway 1, taking pictures and asking for relief from the owners of the trucks' companies.

Another complained of a large bush near Swift Street that makes crossing dangerous. And then there's the streetlight on Limekiln that's been out for five months.

The results turn the site into a neighborhood watch group open to the public (where luckily, spelling isn't counted).