Legal notices

How notice works

When a hazard keeps showing up, the people responsible for that place or activity (businesses, property owners, delivery partners, schools, or government) are expected to act with reasonable care once the risk is known or should be known.

What our project adds is a clear, dated record: reports, photos, and notifications that show when and where the problem kept happening and who was told. That history raises the expectation that someone will fix it. If they do not and someone is hurt, the documented pattern can increase liability.

What we do with reports

• Document hazards with time, place, photos when provided, and short context.
• Share clear, repeated patterns with the people who can act: city staff, schools, property owners, employers, delivery partners, or enforcement when appropriate.
• Keep a dated record of notices sent and any follow‑up responses.
• If harm or injury occurs, provide our dated documentation to the appropriate authorities or courts when useful.

This creates visibility and accountability. It also helps point to better fixes: safer designs, clearer signs, or space for loading and drop off, and, when needed, who may be liable.

For context

Other civic tools have used legal notices to encourage better behavior. Public reporting can help put organizations on record and motivate fixes. Our focus is patterns and safer outcomes, not naming and shaming.

Hat tip to Bike Lane Uprising for inspiring a public “legal notice” approach in their fantastic work (see their Funding Legal Notices offering).

This page is informational and not legal advice.