Imagine you’re driving down Douglas Avenue and hit a pothole that wasn’t there last week. Or you’re walking your dog one evening and notice a streetlight is out or someone dumped some tires on the side of the road.You can be part of the solution.“Just because residents see a pothole or community issue does not mean crews are aware of it,” city spokesperson Megan Lovely said in an email. “Reporting helps … us log problems so they can be fixed.”Wichitans filed 660 reports in August.The Beacon created this guide to help you get problems fixed. How to find helpResidents can easily report problems online, but knowing where to do so is another matter. The city oversees potholes, homeless encampments, stray animals, graffiti, illegal dumping in storm drains, tobacco sales to minors and water quality issues. Sedgwick County handles illegal dumping, tall grass, housing problems and cars that no longer run. Evergy, the region’s electric provider, is in charge of streetlights.But if you can’t find your problem in this list or your issue doesn’t fit in those categories, there’s an easy solution — Wichita’s website or app. It lets you report problems to the city and it can send you to the right website or phone number.How to report an issueThe most commonly used tool is the city of Wichita’s app, which lets users submit concerns from their smartphones. It’s available for both iPhone and Android, and the city also offers an online portal for desktop users.Residents need to provide details about the issue and give a location, even pinpointing it on a map. They can also upload photos to help city workers identify and address the problem. “We encourage people to be as thorough as possible when they submit a report,” Lovely said. Sedgwick County and Evergy offer similar online forms but not apps. What to expect after you’ve filed a reportOnce an issue is submitted to Wichita, the city logs the report and routes it to the appropriate department. Lovely said the timeline for addressing concerns varies based on the type and severity of the issue. For example, potholes are often filled within 24 hours, but more complex problems that require investigation, such as issues on private property, typically take longer.“Reported issues that pose a safety or traffic impediment may be prioritized faster than ones that are just an aesthetic nuisance, such as graffiti,” Lovely said.Residents can track the status of their reports through the app or online.Reporting an issue as soon as you notice it can help speed up the process.“Evergy typically works the outages from oldest to newest,” Evergy spokesperson Courtney Lewis said in an email, “but priority is given if a circuit of several lights is not working.” But not everything can be fixed. “There are also times the city cannot address issues,” Lovely said. “We often get pothole reports for parking lots that are privately owned that we cannot address.”The post A resident’s guide to reporting potholes, busted streetlights and other problems in Wichita appeared first on The Beacon.