ST. LOUIS — Thousands of beaten up, broken down, and abandoned cars are reported on the streets of St. Louis every year, but all too often it’s months before they’re removed.
Like many neighborhoods in St. Louis, parking is at a premium at the intersection of Henrietta St. & Pennsylvania Ave.
“It can be tight,” said Luke Smith. “There’s always cars that don’t move for a long period of time. If I think of it, I try to report it.”
Smith has reported an abandoned Ford Focus to the Citizen’s Service Bureau multiple times over the past several months, but it hasn’t budged.
“Ninety days, 180 days, a whole year whatever it is seems a little too long for a car to sit there with expired out-of-state plates, flat tires, and the whole nine yards,” said Smith. “It’s not good for the neighborhood, and it’s not good for property values.”
In 2021 alone the Citizen’s Service Bureau received more than 5,200 reports of cars abandoned across the city.
“I come outside and see this and it’s a little frustrating,” said Christopher Nichols.
Christopher Nichols says a Volkswagen has been abandoned off Washington Avenue near for weeks.
“I can see that it’s been vandalized because the windows are all shattered up,” said Nichols.
The Streets Department is supposed to tow derelict cars if they don’t move for more than a week or if they have more than four unpaid parking tickets.
“By how long it’s been sitting right here this is somebody’s parking spot,” said Nichols. “Somebody lives in these buildings. They can do a little better.”
In an effort to find out what’s causing the delay 5OYS reached out to St. Louis Streets Director Betherny Williams, who provided us with this statement:
“The Streets Division works to remove abandoned or derelict vehicles from our communities as quickly as possible, prioritizing those posing the greatest risk to public safety for removal within 24 hours. The City of St. Louis remains committed to improving city services and addressing the needs of residents, and is also looking to fill its open Tow Truck Driver positions; qualified City residents are encouraged to apply online. Pay for all jobs begins at $15 an hour with competitive benefits. Abandoned or derelict vehicles can be reported to the Citizens Service Bureau at 314.622.4800, online or via Twitter @stlcsb.”
“After 9 months of it sitting there and reporting it numerous times you would think something would change,” said Smith. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t.”
“We need to do better guys,” said Nichols.
For more information on how you can report abandoned or derelict cars to the Citizen’s Service Bureau click here.
If you would like to pitch a story you can email Holden at hkurwicki1@ksdk.com or text us at 314-425-5355.