THE LEAFLET

This post is part of a three-part series focused on an analysis of DC 311 data. Part one highlighted how we use 311 and how tree-related requests compare to all 311 requests. Part two focused on how 311 requests are dispersed across the city. And part three centers on the city’s response and fulfillment of 311 requests.

DC 311 & Our Trees: Part III – How is the city responding to 311 requests?

Welcome to our last installment of our series focused on an analysis of over one million 311 requests from the last 3 years, to see what 311 data reveals about the concerns DC residents have about the city’s trees and tree-related services. In part one, we discovered that Washingtonians care deeply about our tree canopy and often use 311 to report tree-related issues. Tree-related service types (Tree Inspection, Tree Pruning, Tree Planting, and Tree Removal) are all some of the top reasons why residents contact 311.

Last week, in part two of our series on 311, we highlighted that residents’ needs are different all around the city. For a variety of reasons, some residents are more or less likely to use 311 to request tree-related services, and how residents feel about their trees and their tree canopy ranges from ward to ward and even street to street.

In part three, we examine the city’s efforts to fulfill 311 requests and maintain our tree canopy. How do residents’ 311 requests and need for tree-related services translate to action? How quickly does the city respond to tree-related requests? And how does the city manage the full scope of our urban forest?

1. The city has made huge strides in maintaining trees and growing the tree canopy.

All tree-related 311 service requests are fulfilled by the Urban Forestry Division (UFD) of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). UFD cares for over 180,000 public trees, inspects over 68,000 trees per year, and plants more than 6,000 trees per year. Arborists work diligently to respond to concerns for DC’s street trees, and trees in parks, at schools, and other public spaces. They respond quickly to urgent tree requests, triage less urgent requests, and schedule tree work throughout the city.

Earl Eutsler (right), Associate Director of DDOT’s Urban Forestry Division.

But UFD does more than respond to 311 requests, they actively maintain all of the public trees and manage the urban forest as a public resource. “We look at these trees as essentially like utilities, just in the same way that lead-free pipes are delivering clean water, these trees are providing other benefits for people too”, says Earl Eutsler, Associate Director of the Urban Forestry Division, “And if we only went where people asked for tree planting or other sorts of vital services, we would not be serving the public equally. Our program delivery is not just where people ask, but where the need exists. The requests are critical, but the scope is much larger than just 311”.

This is reflected in UFD’s data as well. Over the last decade, UFD has planted and maintained thousands of trees across DC. Their work orders do not necessarily track in direct correlation with 311 requests, but follow the identified needs and opportunities each ward and community may have. Explore some of the data below (click to enlarge):

For instance, although 311 data shows Ward 8 residents are less engaged on tree requests through 311, UFD has planted enough trees in Ward 8 to see a 55% increase in the number of public trees over the last decade – the greatest increase of any ward. And while there may more opportunities for mature tree care (pruning and removal) in wards with more mature trees, like wards 3 and 4, there may be other opportunities for planting or young tree care elsewhere.

“Casey Trees, itself, was founded off of the alarmed sense that trees in the city, in the 1990’s, were falling into disarray – and that’s absolutely true”, says Eutsler, “and that’s why we’ve spent the last 25 years aggressively trying to increase access and benefits to trees for all neighborhoods. And the way we’ve done that is delivering services where the need is greatest, and where the opportunities are greatest”.

2. The city has made improvements in 311 response times.

Our analysis of 311 data also allows us to look at the average time it takes the city to close 311 requests. See below for 311’s “average time to resolution” across each of the tree-related request types:

The average response time for a tree inspection is less than 24 hours, more quickly if the tree is a hazard or safety concern. For less urgent requests, like tree pruning or planting, it can take 3 months, on average. Is this an adequate response time for these requests? Resident expectations may vary, but the data shows that these response times are better than they have ever been.

“The trend goes back further than the last 10 years, but we have been consistently improving”, says Eutsler, “Not only do we have sort of consistent improvements over time in on-time service delivery in response to these requests, but we’re able to achieve that even when we’re talking something as time sensitive as these tree inspection requests. The persistent trend is just better and better and better, even as the number of requests goes up and up and up”. UFD reports that over the last decade, although tree-related requests and work orders have increased – some even having doubled – average delivery time of services has decreased. Explore the data below (click to enlarge):

UFD data (above) shows that even though tree-related work orders have increased over the last decade (green areas of lines indicating less work orders, and yellow to red indicating more), delivery times have substantially decreased. Data courtesy of UFD. Note that 2024 data is incomplete.

In 2015, UFD’s average time to respond to and close a request for a tree inspection was 9 days. Today, tree inspections are closed in 1 day, or within just hours for more urgent cases. And the trend is the same for tree planting, tree removal, and tree pruning. What used to take almost a full year in some cases a decade ago, now takes just 2-3 months.

3. Though 311 response times have improved, they still may not align with DC residents’ expectations.

The Urban Forestry Division is working hard to plant, prune, and care for our city’s trees. But the challenge they face is immense, and response times may not be keeping up with DC residents’ expectations. Often times, it has more to do with the lack communication residents receive around their requests.

“For instance, there was a resident here who called 311 recently to have a tree pruned that grew up and is blocking a street light, and they are concerned it’s blocking light at night and is a safety issue”, says Ra Amin, ANC Commissioner for 5B04, “It’s been 3 or 4 weeks now, and we don’t know where that request is at. And if the average response time for tree pruning is 3 months – which seems like a long time, actually – that may make people feel like they are being ignored or forgotten, especially if they don’t get updates throughout the process”.

This can be reflected as well in the difference between 311’s estimated resolution times, and the actual resolution times. UFD is fulfilling tree pruning requests, on average, within 3 months, but current 311 estimates are for 6 months. Likewise, UFD fulfills tree planting requests, on average, within about 100 days, but current 311 estimates are for 500 days. This difference between estimated and actual resolution times can frustrate or even discourage residents.

Similarly, just submitting a 311 request can be a challenge. “The categories can be confusing” says Nathan Harrington, Executive Director of Ward 8 Woods, “Sometimes what you are trying to report doesn’t fit exactly in a category, or you choose the wrong category, so it goes to the wrong department and never gets fulfilled. Or they tell you it’s been passed on to the appropriate department, but they don’t tell you when the work is complete, so you have to go back and constantly check. Then they close out the ticket and nothing is done, and you have to make a new ticket. Also, 311 requests aren’t geo-located, it will always default to the closest address on the map, and that can be a problem if you’re trying to report an issue in the middle of a park or off of a road or parkway”.

Anecdotally, these experiences with 311 are fairly common; however, comprehensive, public data is not available to compare 311 requests and the work orders that are assigned to associated departments that fulfill the requests. But better communication, request processes, and reporting seem like areas of needed improvement.

Eutsler agrees this is a growth area, but says there are practices and processes to minimize issues. “For instance, a lot of times people request tree planting when really what they’re saying is ‘remove a dead tree and replace it'”. In cases like this, because the tree removal needs to happen first, they close the tree planting 311 request and update their work orders for removal and planting after. However, the communication through 311 may not always accurately reflect the work being completed. To combat this, UFD also often leaves behind brochures or door-hanger notifications, to advise residents. The city also encourages residents to not only submit a 311 request, but sign up for an account, as this enables email updates every time they interact and update service requests.

4. Washingtonians can advocate for tree planting and help the city care for trees.

A common theme across all 311 data is an obvious and urgent need for tree care. The 311 service requests for “Tree Inspection” and “Tree Pruning” lead all tree-related requests, and these service requests are most often for mature trees. These requests are often made for trees that are sick, damaged, may be hazardous, and need tree care soon.

This not only indicates a need then for mature tree care, but a need for young tree care too. Trees that are structurally pruned when young, and properly cared for throughout their growth to mature trees, have less issues as they mature. Structurally pruning young trees would result in less tree inspection, pruning, and removal requests over time.

While UFD uses more than 311 requests to manage our urban forest, DC residents should continue to use 311 to report trees that need to be inspected or pruned, or to report a street tree box that needs a tree planted. If issues go unreported, they cannot be fixed, and the city relies on public input and notification.

DDOT also just announced their the launch of their tree planting season, which runs from October through May, where arborists work to fill public tree spaces with a new trees. This year, DDOT hopes to plant more than 8,000 trees across all eight wards, and has already planted nearly 300 trees to start the season. DC residents can contact 311 to report a public space that needs trees, or can plant free trees on their own property by visiting caseytrees.org/free.

With the public’s help and constant advocacy, we can care for DC’s tree canopy together.