Philadelphia Abandons 3-1-1 Plan

[Guest guest]

At the risk of another round of controversy, I offer the following.

Philadelphia has abandoned its plans to develop a 3-1-1 system. The

decision was primarily budgetary. A driving factor in considering the

system in the first place was to reduce 9-1-1 volume. The PPD said that of

the 3.28 million 9-1-1 calls received in 2003, 1.8 million resulted in

police dispatch, but 1.4 million of them were for non-emergencies, which

they called, " 311-type calls. "

There was another reason besides cost to drop the development; a very

peculiar one. Spokeswoman Joyce Wilkerson said, " Beyond the cost issue

there was a fear that an increasingly popular 311 system would have raised

service expectations beyond what city government can realistically

deliver. " Nothing like rising to the challenge.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/10457869.htm?1c