VANCOUVER - Dead skunk in the middle of the road and you don't know what to do about it? Well, now there's an app for that, at least in Vancouver.

You can also report potholes, sick street trees, graffiti, dark street lights, abandoned vehicles and run-of-the-mill dead animals not needing the skunk crew.

In its effort to connect better with its most wired citizens, and recognizing that more than 40 per cent of the online contacts it has with citizens comes through the smartphone, Vancouver has launched a new "Vanconnect" app for smartphones that will deliver a wide range of services and information.

Want to pay for a dog license? Apply for a development permit? Dispute or pay for a parking fine? Find a fitness centre, park, swimming pool or community centre? Look at the financial disclosure statements for Mayor Gregor Robertson and his city councillors? All that is available on the Vanconnect app, available for Apple and Android smartphones.

The project, months in the making, was unveiled Thursday morning at City Hall. It cost $134,000 to develop — under the budget of $150,000 — and will cost about $40,000 annually to maintain.

The new app is being added to a suite of subject-specific apps the city already has for garbage collection, library services and booking tee times on city golf courses. Those apps will continue to be maintained, according to Jessie Adcock, the chief digital officer for the city.

A new function being added is the ability to file a service request, whether it is to report a pothole, graffiti, sick tree or that dead skunk. The app will allow the user to take a GPS-linked photograph, allowing the city to size up the problem and dispatch crews.

Adcock said Vancouver's robust open data system, in which the city routinely makes public information data sets available, is the backbone for the new app. Whether it is the location of every skateboard park in the city or a rolling interactive map of road closures, the app accesses some of the city's most-used data. She said the app is a work in progress and that more programs and information will be added as her team takes public requests.

Sharon Townsend, the executive director of the South Granville Business Improvement Area, said the app has made it easier for her organization to track and report issues important to her members. The BIA was one of several that tried out the app before it was released publicly Thursday.

Robertson said the target for the app is the fast-growing number of people who already communicate with the city through smartphones. He credited Coun. Andrea Reimer, a proponent of the city's open data program, for pushing the idea of the app. But he said the city also has no intention of abandoning other traditional forms of communication, including mail and old-fashioned telephone calls.

Still, there are a few bugs with the app that are being worked out. For example, the city's legislative sessions, such as city council, park board and council committees, are not listed in the calendar section. Unlike councillors, park board commissioners are not included, although one can sign up to speak at a park board meeting. On the other hand, you can't sign up to speak at council.

And while one can watch city council live on the app, the agendas and documents related to those sessions are also not available, although they can be seen on the regular website. Adcock said some of those complex programs still haven't been converted for the app.

jefflee@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/sunciviclee

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