Snap Send Solve app data reveals biggest dangers, frustrations with where we live
Melbourne may be one of the world’s most liveable cities, but photos sent into councils by frustrated passers-by reveal hazards everywhere, such as a power pole packed with dozens of tangled cables. And the safety risks aren’t the only things frustrating people.
Inner South
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Dumped rubbish, abandoned cars, parking woes and rampant graffiti are the top gripes of ratepayers across Melbourne’s southeastern and inner eastern suburbs.
Photos sent to the Snap Send Solve app show just how frustrated people are about danger spots and filth in their streets.
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The snaps show dangerous playground equipment, open manhole covers, trapped animals and even a third-world-looking electricity pole crowded with dozens of tangled cables.
But in the leafy affluent east, even fallen leaves seem to irritate locals.
The app, which allows people to send a picture of a neighbourhood problem directly to the responsible authority, shows a rise in use by frustrated residents from the year leading up to December 2018.
The biggest rise was a whopping 231 per cent in Mornington Peninsula, followed by Glen Eira (181 per cent), Stonnington (172 per cent), Port Phillip (163 per cent), Bayside (129 per cent), Kingston (127 per cent), Greater Dandenong (81 per cent), Frankston (77 per cent), Boroondara (50 per cent) and Casey (49 per cent).
In Bayside, abandoned cars are top of the complaints list with 15 per cent, followed closely by dumped rubbish, graffiti, litter and animals.
App founder Danny Gorog said more communities were using it to report issues.
“The problems people are experiencing are pretty common around council regions and the increased usage of the app was a reflection of how easy it is to report local issues,” he said.
“Councils can respond faster before things become really contentious issues.
“For example, it’s cheaper to fix a small pothole before it gets bigger.”
He said the app had more than 500,000 users and received more than 30,000 reports every month.
In Greater Dandenong, dumped rubbish has featured in 22 per cent of the 370 snaps received monthly.
Other gripes included parking problems, abandoned cars and broken pavements.
Greater Dandenong Council corporate services director Mick Jaensch said the app had helped the council be aware of local issues.
“Customer service staff have seen a reduction in the number of calls coming through, follow up calls have also decreased because the app captures locations and photographs that explain issues more clearly,” he said.
“Staff and contractors also commonly use the app to report issues within the municipality.”
Out of 165 reports received by Kingston Council every month, parking issues soared to 20 per cent of the total, followed by rubbish and graffiti.
Kingston Council corporate services general manager Paul Franklin said the council had several ways for the community to contact them about community issues.
“People can do this via our website, the City Watch app, the council’s Facebook page or by using the Snap, Send, Solve app,” he said.
“It’s great to hear directly from interested community members and we encourage them to provide as much detail about the issue as possible so that we can respond.”
Parking was also highly reported in Casey, making up 26 per cent of total complaints.
Trees — including roots causing problems, dangerous branches and falling leaves — were the second most contentious issue, followed by dumped rubbish, problem footpaths and abandoned cars.
Across Victoria, there was a 70 per cent total increase in the number of reports via Snap Send Solve.
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