Drivers habitually streaking past a stop sign at a neighborhood intersection. A rowdy group of college-aged revelers partying into the wee hours next door. Squeaking rats that keep returning in force despite all efforts.
A review of 311 service requests offers a look at what everyday frustrations caused some of the biggest headaches in the city in 2024. Since 2015, the platform has enabled folks to alert the city of nonemergency issues — whether by phone, mobile application, or online — and, from there, the relevant department is tasked with looking into the report.
And locals sure complained a lot last year (or, more technically, according to the city’s database, from Dec. 31 to Dec. 31) — logging more than 282,000 requests for service in total.
Here are some of the top grievances.
10. Pick up dead animals (8,436 requests). Some reported finding deceased bunnies, birds, and squirrels. We’ll also include rats here, the pesky creature that has earned growing attention in recent years, though the stealthy foe has earned its own service request category.
In total, there were 5,015 reports of rodent activity — an increase of more than 1,000 from 2023 — and 23 reports of rat bites. Others complained about pest infestations (1,981 reports) and mice infestations (346).
“Walking the dog early this morning I witnessed what can only be called a ‘rat swarm.’ ... They were not startled by me or my large dog,” said one Dorchester resident. “Just ignored us and went about their business.”
9. Tree maintenance requests (8,638). Pretty straightforward there. Lots of broken tree branches that needed pruning.
8. Poor conditions of property (8,778). That included a complaint about mail being delivered to an unoccupied residence in Dorchester and letters just piling up on the porch.
7. Missed trash/recycling/yard waste/bulk item (10,594). Related: Two requests for a mattress pickup.
6. Pothole repair (10,641). Boston drivers are familiar with maneuvering the city’s concrete craters, some of which have caused serious damage to vehicles. Last month, a person in Mattapan said a pothole was so large that their “whole wheel can fit in it.” In East Boston, a resident reported four “large potholes that need fixing ASAP,” claiming each was about 4 feet deep.
5. Needle pickup (10,736). Many vexed about the distressing trend, coming across dirty and used needles at children’s playgrounds, bus stops, and in front of schools.
4. Code enforcement collection (17,891). Throughout the city, residents called for the enforcement of sanitary codes, most of which pertained to street cleaning and trash removal, with reports about sectional couches being dumped in front of properties, trash not being picked up for weeks, and many mattresses left on sidewalks or in alleys.
3. Improper storage of trash barrels (20,432). The rats get some credit for this category, too. A number of reports attributed rodents running around to overflowing dumpsters and trash barrels. “There are too many rats to count,” one resident said of the scene at the North End’s Cutillo Park in December.
2. Street cleaning (22,539). It appears that a lot of people left their litter on the sidewalks, including pieces of wood, Christmas trees, general trash, and a broken-down lawn mower in Hyde Park. Their neighbors weren’t happy about it.
1. Parking enforcement (63,236). The granddaddy of all complaints sparked gripes about nonresidents parking in resident-only spots, cars stopped in bus lanes, and vehicles staying too long at a location.
At the end of December, one resident of Roslindale had tired of such a nuisance, writing a message to the city in all caps, which you know means business, that a driver was not only illegally parked but in a spot that “clearly says DO NOT ENTER.”
Other standout requests included two reports for mattress pickup, 21 reports for pigeon infestations, 185 reports of illegal auto body shops, 928 reports of abandoned bicycles, and 678 reports of loud parties/music/people.
“They keep screaming/yelling and it’s past midnight!!!! It’s almost every night!!! It’s been months since I had normal night sleep!!!!!” reported one seemingly exhausted Back Bay resident.
Above all others, the Public Works Department, responsible for keeping city streets and sidewalks clean, received just under half of all complaints for the year. Next up: the city’s Transportation Department, then the Parks and Recreation Department.
The neighborhoods with the most grievances, in order, were Dorchester, Roxbury, South Boston/South Boston Waterfront, Allston/Brighton, and then the South End, according to the 311 database. All exceeded 20,000 complaints.
Chestnut Hill, though not technically a Boston neighborhood, had the lowest number, with 13 reports logged.
By the end of the year, 198,838 of the cases in the database were marked as closed by the city — or approximately 82 percent. Nearly 42,000 remained open.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.