More Than 80% of Boston Sidewalk Repair Requests Are Overdue, City Data Shows
Of 598 sidewalk repair requests filed with Boston 311 over a 30-day period, 491 are marked overdue. Pothole and utility contractor complaints also lag.
More than four of every five sidewalk repair requests filed with Boston 311 in the past month are past the city's own target for completion, according to city data. Residents filed 598 sidewalk repair requests from Sept. 19 through Oct. 18, 2026. As of the most recent update, 491 of them, or about 82%, were marked overdue.
That was the highest overdue rate among all 311 request types with more than 150 cases in the period. Utility contractor complaints, which involve crews working in city streets, ranked second, with 226 of 317 requests, or about 71%, overdue. Pothole requests followed, with 297 of 430, or about 69%, overdue.
Across all 14,037 requests opened during the period, 10,907 were marked on time and 3,130, or about 22%, were marked overdue. The Public Works Department handled the largest share, 8,495 requests, of which 1,915 were overdue.
The city assigns each request a target closing date, and the dataset marks a case overdue once that date passes. The data does not show how late a given case is, and some recently opened cases may still be resolved. The figures represent a snapshot rather than a final measure of performance.
Residents can file or track requests online, through the BOS:311 app or by calling 311.
How we reported this
Boston Uncut analyzed the City of Boston's 311 Service Requests (new system) dataset on Analyze Boston, last updated Oct. 19, 2026, for all requests opened Sept. 19 through Oct. 18, 2026 (timestamps as published, in UTC). Requests were counted by case topic and by the dataset's on-time field (ONTIME or OVERDUE). Comparisons among request types include only those with more than 150 requests.
