How San Diego's Get It Done app isn't getting it done
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A van parked for weeks in Pacific Beach. Photo: Courtesy of Wendy Eichenbaum
If you file a report through San Diego's Get It Done app, you may be waiting awhile to get results, according to an Axios analysis of city data.
Why it matters: The city routes many complaints — from off-leash dogs to cars parked on the street for too long — through the app, but San Diego had almost 85,000 open cases in its queue as of last week, making filing a complaint feel fruitless to some residents.
- In some cases, complaints have languished for up to a decade.
When it comes to certain kinds of complaints, like cars parking longer than 72 hours, police say the backlog is due in part to understaffing.
Case in point: Pacific Beach resident Wendy Eichenbaum has tried over and over to use the app to report cars violating the 72-hour parking limit on her street.
- Her townhouse has only one designated parking spot. Cars parked for weeks in front of her house mean her partner has to park blocks away.
- But it takes police on average 14 days to close a 72-hour complaint in her neighborhood, according to city data.
- "So if you do the math, you file a report and then wait, the car will move just before street sweeping, perpetually avoiding the penalty," she told Axios. "It feels like playing Whack-a-Mole."
And Pacific Beach has one of the faster average response times.
- In northern, richer neighborhoods like Del Mar Mesa, Torrey Highlands and Carmel Mountain, it takes on average 125 days to close a 72-hour parking case.
Data shows richer neighborhoods get more of their complaints serviced, even if it still takes several weeks.
- Lower-income neighborhoods fare worse. For example, Southeastern San Diego has 487 open cases, Skyline-Paradise Hills has 480, and Encanto has 390, according to city data.
By the numbers: Overall, it's taking the city longer to close such parking cases — 46 days in 2026 versus 43 in 2025, data shows.
Zoom out: There are other issues reported through the app even less likely to be resolved with longer wait times.
- Sidewalk repair and street light maintenance each have more than 12,000 open cases, and 61 cases have been open for more than 10 years.
What they're saying: While there are almost 4,000 72-hour parking complaints still open, the police department has closed almost 12,000 this year, city spokesperson Leslie Wolf Branscomb told Axios.
- "We understand that this may be frustrating for community members," she said. "However, in a time when SDPD continues to face staffing constraints, we are constantly working to maximize resources to address all priorities across the city."
Flashback: In 2024, the city found these parking violation reports were "not meeting customer expectations," so it made an internal mobile tool that allows officers to respond in real time, Wolf Branscomb said.
How it works: Parking scofflaw reports are routed to an officer on the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement team for evaluation.
- When police respond, if the car is still there, the officer will mark the vehicle.
- After 72 hours, an officer will return and check to see if the vehicle has moved, Wolf Branscomb said.
- If the vehicle has not moved, it will be cited and potentially impounded.
"Due to the process and the significant volume of reports, it is advised that when reporting, allow up to 30 days for a complete evaluation of the report," she said.
Friction point: To Eichenbaum, that wait time defeats the purpose of the reports, especially because cars will move once a month to avoid a street sweeping ticket.
- If a car moves to the other side of the street, that skirts the Get It Done report.