11 investigates complaints to Pittsburgh's 311 hotline

PITTSBURGH — From illegal dumping to potholes. Pittsburgh's 311 hotline receives nearly 200 calls each day. Target 11 got the data behind the calls and looked into the most common complaints.

Mildred Grace said she's fed up with the potholes dotting her street in Homewood. For several years, she said she's been calling 311. She said some of the time crews will come out to patch the holes, but not always.

"You know, we pay taxes like everybody else. Our money is green just like everybody else. And like I said, I've been calling for the last three years and nothing's been done," said Grace.

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Over the last two years, 311 has received more complaints about potholes than any other problem: a total of 18,985 calls. The second most common problem were brought in by 7,935 calls for worn down and dilapidated buildings. There were 7,499 calls for weeds and debris, 5,755 calls for snow and ice removal, and 5,637 calls for garbage violations.

Paul Grguras found a pile of trash dumped on a city-owned lot in his neighborhood near Riverview Park.

"This is the third time this week. Here we had 50 bags dumped up on the street. There's three bags up the street. Somebody dumped again," said Grguras.

Target 11 analyzed the data and found that most calls to 311 came from Brookline: 5,514 calls. There were 5,242 calls from Carrick, 5,108 calls from the South Side Slopes, 4,732 calls from the South Side Flats, 4,458 from Squirrel Hill, and 3,572 calls from Mount Washington.

"I think we are at a B right now," said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

Peduto said 311 has come a long way in the last 10 years from logging calls on paper to now using software which allows the city to track response times to problems.

"We can now measure how many days it takes to get to that pothole. Then, how many days is it taking the division right next door and then comparing that to the next division, and looking to see maybe we don't have enough trucks or enough people in this one division to be able to do it," said Peduto.

The mayor said he ultimately wants the information to go directly from the 311 center to the trucks out in the field. For frustrated residents, that can't happen soon enough.

Cox Media Group