An Ottawa software developer is putting the finishing touches on an app aimed at getting those cracks and craters currently proliferating on city roads filled before they can snap another axle.

By day, Justin Kelly is a contractor with the federal government.

In his spare time, he likes to help people through technology, and spotted a need when it comes to potholes.

His solution is a free automated Facebook Messenger tool called PotSnap.

"You give it a location and then you take a photo. It's going to ask you for a size, which is something the 311 system doesn't normally do — but it's useful because the city needs to know how bad this pothole is," Kelly told the CBC's Hallie Cotnam.

"This is a scale of one to five, five being your car's gone into a sinkhole, and one being you won't even trip. That's it, it's done, it's mailed off to the city."

If you're driving or are otherwise unable to take a quick picture, you can use the app's map to mark the location later.

This pothole, with a rubber ducky included for scale, might rate a three or even a four on Justin Kelly's new app, PotSnap. (Justin Kelly)

Kelly said once the app is ready — he still needs another month or two — it will give city crews a real-time idea of where the worst potholes are.

"The [city's] online form isn't too bad, but it's kind of clunky," Kelly said of the current reporting system. "The problem with [calling 311] is that you have to go through a bunch of menus, and if you're going to report multiple potholes, it's super long."

Kelly is also working on a messenger bot for reporting bylaw infractions such as vehicles parked in no-parking zones, and he's got an idea for a device that could be placed aboard OC Transpo buses to automatically analyze road conditions through a sensor that monitors bumps and jolts.