Oakland’s Abandoned Vehicles Crisis
A city in California with just under 500,000 residents has documented nearly 14,000 abandoned vehicles within a span of six months. Oakland is literally littered with abandoned cars that eventually, after being disassembled by parts dealers, stand as wrecks on the streets of the city until they are picked up by the city authorities. In the last six months alone, the authorities have received almost 14,000 reports of abandoned vehicles, which is at the level of the significantly larger cities of San Francisco and Baltimore combined.
–> Check which Tesla model is the most popular in 2023
City’s Storage Dilemma
The city no longer has a place to store abandoned vehicles. They pay a million dollars a year, and there are about 2,000 vehicles in just one landfill. Now there are no more additional spaces, so the city decided to react only to abandoned vehicles that interfere with daily traffic.
This means that the city authorities will remove the car if someone leaves it in front of the entrance, but not somewhere where no one is bothered, in the parking lot or in front of the school. ABC7 News went for a drive with City Councilman Noel Gallo and managed to spot about 50 abandoned cars in the half-hour drive. They also drove through areas where many vehicles are dismantled for parts due to removal and resale activities. Despite awareness of these illicit practices, law enforcement lacks the resources to address them, effectively allowing such activities to continue.
