Bladensburg steps up efforts to kick abandoned vehicle problems to the curb

Code enforcement urges residents to report cars without tags

by Daniel J. Gross, Staff Writer

Due to a surge of incidents in Bladensburg, code enforcement plans to start cracking down harder on abandoned vehicles and vehicles without tags cases.

From the beginning of the year through the end of August, there were 168 abandoned vehicle reports, of which 11 vehicles were impounded, said Tim McNamara, the town’s code enforcement director.

Last year there were 175 reports, of which 18 abandoned vehicles were impounded, McNamara said.

Tim McNamara, the town’s code enforcement director, said by the rate the reports are coming in, the town will likely see many more this year.

Apart from the increase in numbers, McNamara said the issue is also a problem because as the temperatures drop, rodents will use the abandoned vehicles as shelter and be closer to residential properties.

“We will start cracking down harder when weather gets colder,” McNamara said. “If you’re not going to fix it and it’s a piece of junk, we remove it for free so [vehicle owners] are not going to pay for that.”

He said code enforcement will impound abandoned vehicles free of charge, using Henry’s Wrecker Service in Bladensburg.

“That way, residents can’t say that we’re just doing this to make money,” McNamara said.

He also said that abandoned vehicles are naturally hazardous because children tend to play inside them or around them and harm themselves or lock themselves inside. He said there have not been any recent cases in Bladensburg.

“But there has been across the country where kids have locked themselves in the trunk of abandoned vehicles and have been found days later dead,” McNamara said.

Councilman Cris Mendoza (Ward 1) said reporting an abandoned vehicle is important because it can occasionally lead to the discovery of a stolen vehicle.

Mendoza said the problem is not so much dealing with residents who literally abandon their vehicles, but more so from residents who have not placed tags on their vehicle or have not renewed them.

“For most part it’s someone who hasn’t put tags on but every rare occasion it will be a stolen vehicle from a robbery or something. The best thing to do is report it,” he said.

Bladensburg Police Chief Charles Owens said the department does not keep track of how many abandoned vehicle reports lead to the discovery of stolen vehicles, but said out of 75 cases of motor vehicle theft in 2011, 23 have been recovered locally.

Owens said he agreed with McNamara that abandoned cars present a hazard and need to be reported for the town to take action.

“It’s a problem in this entire area. It’s called blight. A lot of times people drop their cars off on the side of the street just to get rid of them,” Owens said. “It can represent a traffic hazard, especially at night. Sometimes in bad weather drivers can’t see them and crash in to them.”

McNamara said most of their reports come from business and shopping center parking lots, where people will take the tags and leave the car there. He said when that happens they speak with the owner or agent of the shopping or business center and have them sign off on the removal of the vehicle.

NEWS SOURCE