Notes / 311 / Public Works
Public Works (DPW)
Last revised: July 2026.
DPW handles the largest share of 311 requests: roads, sidewalks, trees, trash collection, signs, and parking. (Streetlights sit under DPU.) Breakdown by category below.
See DPW’s SLA performance →See DPW by geography →
Includes records the City’s system still flags as open, regardless of last-activity date. About 14% of currently-open DPW requests were submitted before 2022 and most have not been modified in years. See methodology for how this number relates to the City’s published charts.
What’s in Play Each Month
Last 6 fully-elapsed months — the current month is excluded because it’s still accumulating. Every request is split two ways: whether it was already backlog coming into the month or opened fresh that month, and whether it closed by month’s end or is still open. A request that stays open moves from “new” into “backlog” in the following month’s bar — it’s the same rolling stock shown from month to month, not four separate counts. The category breakdown below is about where the current open backlog sits, not how much volume DPW moves month to month.
How One Ticket Moves
Month 1: opens
Counted as New
Month 2: still open
Now counted as Backlog
Month 3: closes
Counted as Backlog, cleared
If it had closed back in Month 1 instead, it counts as New, closed and never becomes backlog at all.
| Month | Backlog, still open | Backlog, cleared | New, still open | New, closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 9,154 | 920 | 1,274 | 1,199 |
| Mar 2026 | 9,224 | 1,204 | 1,288 | 1,818 |
| Apr 2026 | 8,928 | 1,584 | 880 | 1,743 |
| May 2026 | 8,945 | 863 | 961 | 1,492 |
| Jun 2026 | 9,095 | 811 | 1,069 | 1,664 |
| Jul 2026 | 9,298 | 866 | 1,068 | 1,748 |
Open Requests by Category
Categories with fewer than 25 requests submitted since 2022 excluded from the rate columns; their open count is still included.
Category detail
| Category | Open | Total | Completion % | Median days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Potholes, sidewalks (concrete, brick, curb ramp), alleys (gravel, cobblestone), pavement markings, safety concerns. | 6,134 | 26,847 | 82.4% | 32 |
Tree maintenance, new planting, vegetation obstructing visibility. | 3,502 | 21,313 | 83.9% | 50 |
Trash, litter, graffiti, bulk pickup, leaf vacuum, illegal dumping. | 459 | 60,605 | 99.3% | 4 |
Traffic signs, traffic signal repair, school flashers. (Streetlights are DPU.) | 249 | 7,457 | 97.1% | 12 |
Parking citation appeals, DMV holds, handicapped signs, residential permits. | 117 | 27,377 | 99.6% | 0 |
Construction blocking sidewalks/roads, storage containers, restaurant seating. | 41 | 690 | 93.6% | 5 |
Other | 16 | 112 | 85.7% | 22 |
Open is the all-time count of currently-open requests. Total, Completion %, and Median days are computed from requests submitted 2022 onward; categories with fewer than 25 requests in that window show —.
Definitions, status codes, and limitations: RVA311 methodology.