CITY PAYOUTS NOT AS COSTLY

Vehicle damage payouts by the city and county of Honolulu in the past three fiscal years are substantially less than those paid by the state, totaling $20,440 from July 2008 until the end of June of last year. Drivers should call the city's Department of the Corporation Counsel at (808) 768-5193 to request a form. Like the state, the form asks for as much detail as possible, including damage estimates.

CITY IMPROVES ON POTHOLE REPORTING

An audit in June 2005 showed the city's pothole hotline was inefficient and relied on antiquated technology. The auditor's report stated the city was not meeting its goal of filling potholes within two business days. However, since the report was issued, the Department of Facility Maintenance has made several changes, including the creation of a website to make it easier to report potholes.

"We've noticed that about half the number of people that report in potholes go through the Internet web site," said DFM Director Westley Chun.

The city also expects to place pothole reporting on its new Honolulu 311 smart phone application toward the end of the year.

"They can go ahead and take a photograph of the pothole, and with the GPS location of the phone, we'll identify that location," said Chun.

The city is also in the process of launching new computer software that will allow better tracking of road conditions throughout Oahu. A system known as Stereo Panoramic Imaging will replace onsite inspections that have traditionally been performed by road crews.

Another software system developed by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, known as the MicroPAVER, will allow DFM to gauge the Pavement Condition Index, or PCI, of city roads.

Roads with a PCI of 85 to 100 are considered to be in "very good" or "excellent" shape. Those with a PCI of 70 are rated "good," while those that receive 40 points or fewer are considered "poor" to "very poor."