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Let me tell you about the latest addition to the “Keep the West End Beautiful” campaign. For the past two months a green on green, early 50’s model Chevrolet clunker has been adorning the curb in front of 6111 Westminster Place (as you may have guessed, that’s my address). The car, with crumpled and rusted fenders, grubby interior and cracked windshield, bore a valid Missouri license plate until November 18 when it disappeared.
Attempts to have the vehicle removed included:
a. three calls to the police
b. three calls to City Hall
c. one call each to the Democratic committee woman and the 28th ward alderman.
d. two calls to Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council
Information from the police department was:
a. we will make a check on the vehicle
b. as long as the car has a valid license, it is not considered derelict
c. we are not responsible for towing derelict vehicles, City Hall does that
After each call, the car was checked by a police officer.
City Hall issued the following statements:
a. we have no towing service at the present time; the car probably cannot be towed until March, 1972.
b. we will file a report and have a check made c. we are not responsible for towing derelict vehicles, the police department does that.
After the second call a card was received from the Mayor’s office indicating that the complaint was being checked out.
I was informed once by the Council director and once by the police that a car with a valid license plate is not considered derelict and therefore not subject to towing. That being the case, my next question was “Why has the car been allowed to block the street sweeper for six weeks without being ticketed? Strangely enough, neither the police department nor City Hall could answer my question.
Lest someone think that this is an isolated problem, I can cite other examples. At present there is a vehicle missing its front tires parked on the 6100 block of Washington. It has been there for three or four weeks. Within the past year there have been at least four abandoned automobiles parked on the 6100 block of Westminster and two on the 500 block of Rosedale. Complaints were lodged, but the vehicles remained for several weeks.
Originally published in The Paper, December 1971.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1971_12.pdf, printed page 2.
