We agree, abandoned cars are less of an art piece and more of an eyesore, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel, LOU.
On Fri., March 25, Mayor Greg Fischer joined LMPD — the party responsible for maintaining the impound lot and hiring tow operators — to share improvements being made to remove these abandoned and wrecked vehicles from our roadways. We’ll honk for that.
Since January, 267 abandoned vehicles have been towed to the city’s only impound lot located at 1478 Frankfort Ave. in Butchertown. In December, it was estimated the lot was nearly 1,000 cars over capacity — which is about 1,800 vehicles. Currently the number is down to around 1,250.
Here are the four improvements helping to keep the impound lot below capacity.
Monthly car auctions
Thanks to a contract with Auctions ASAP, the city will hold bi-monthly, online, and in-person auctions. On Wed., April 6, 200+ people showed up to bid on cars, SUVs, and trucks.
Amnesty Ordinance — aka the grace period.
The Director of Public Works now has the ability to declare an amnesty period in which all towing and storage fees are waived. The ordinance reduces the financial barrier, and since being established in January, has resulted in the removal of 89 vehicles in the lot.
Beautifying the existing lot
The city is working to reduce visual and security concerns at the impound lot — including lighting and fencing + tree planting with help from TreesLouisville.
Barcoding
The city is helping to keep LMPD better informed of the lot’s inventory with barcodes that include a vehicle’s make and model + location information.
Abandoned vehicle reporting
The Metro311 app now has an option to make a report. All you need is a picture of the vehicle and the location — the report will be routed to LMPD.
With these new efforts underway, the city has pressed pause on plans for a new auction lot in Shivley located along 7th Street Road, announced back in December.