How long does a dumped mattress actually sit on an Oakland corner?

The median is nine days. In Sobrante Park it's fourteen. A closed case is not the same as a cleared corner.

A mattress on a corner is easy to notice. The time it takes to disappear is harder to see. In Oakland's 311 record, the median wait for a dumping report to close is 9 days. In Sobrante Park, the sample median is 14.

Oakland's archive contains 389,334 dumping reports. The useful question is not the total. It is how many reports end with a removal record. In this sample, 68% close with an "abated" code. The other 32% close without one.

A closed report is not the same thing as a clean corner. The file keeps a created timestamp and a closed timestamp, so the wait can be measured. The abatement code is the useful distinction. Without it, the record tells us that the case ended, not that the mattress left.

District 6 has the most dumping reports in this sample. It also has the lowest share of cases with an abatement code. District 3 follows on volume. Those are different problems: one is how often the city hears about dumping, and the other is what the record says happened next.

When you report a pile, include the address and a photo. Keep the case number. If the report closes without an abatement code, use that number when you file again. A second report with a first report attached leaves a trail the status label cannot erase.