Los Angeles residents wishing to complain about graffiti, potholes or inquire about bulky item pick up will soon be able to do so with a couple of swipes and taps on their smart phone.
During a live Google + Hangout conference on Wednesday at Google’s Venice office, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the City of Los Angeles’ website redesign, the first in 15 years, as well as a complementary 311 mobile app that will launch on March 18.
“This shows how far we’ve come and how far we need to go,” Villaraigosa said. “Silicon Beach has raised the game and in the city of L.A., we needed to raise ours, and you know what, we did.”
Angelenos will be able to submit service requests to various city offices and explore their neighborhoods online – searching for parks, libraries, police and fire stations, golf courses, swimming pools and other community features.
Alongside the 311 mobile app, LACity.org now offers residents access to the top 10 service requests, top 10 city council files and the city calendar. People will now also be able to watch city council meetings streaming live on their computers and the website features a live feed of various city departments' tweets.
Customers will also be able to pay their Department of Water and Power bills, and eventually, with a new version of the app, estimated to launch this summer, also pay for parking tickets.
L.A.-based 3Di systems, developed the app that cost the city about $130,000.
“The City of LA has re-imaged its on-line presence,” said ITA General Manager Steve Reneker. “Our new site features richer content, social media connectivity, and on-line 311 services. I’m proud to say that we’ve built one of the best city websites in the country.”
The 311 app will be available on the iTunes store and Google Play Store on March 18.
