Oakland is a city located about 10 kilometers east of San Francisco (California, United States). It has nearly half a million inhabitants and stands out for hosting one of the best baseball teams in the MLB, the Oakland Athletics, nine-time World Series champion. But since its last title, in 1989, the white elephants have been losing prominence and the city is no longer known so much for its baseball team but for the alarming number of abandoned vehicles on its streets.
For a few years now, especially after the pandemic, Oakland has become a focus of attention due to the high number of abandoned vehicles. According to a report prepared by Oakland’s current traffic safety director, Fred Kelley, this year the city expects to receive a record number of around 28,000 requests to remove vehicles from its streets. This figure is almost as high as that of Philadelphia, despite the fact that the city in the state of Pennsylvania is triple the population of Oakland and its metropolitan area is twice the population.
Most of these vehicles are stolen, dismantled and dumped on city streets. But others are simply broken down and abandoned by their owners, who cannot afford their expensive repairs.
In 2023, Oakland received nearly 25,000 vehicle removal requests, surpassing the capacity of municipal services to meet demand. Cars are abandoned anywhere in the city, both on residential streets and in commercial neighborhoods, and even next to train tracks.
Some residents complain that cars block access to homes, businesses and schools, which not only makes mobility difficult, but also creates security problems and negatively affects the quality of life in the city.
A 2008 report from the University of Arizona, still used as a reference by government agencies today, points out that these abandoned cars generate a pull effect and attract other vehicles that are no longer in use. The document highlights that these cars can generate other dangers and harmful activities, as the affected neighbors maintain.
Residents who request the removal of abandoned vehicles must face a series of difficulties. Not only do they have to deal with the fact that police only entertain requests if vehicles obstruct their property, but removal is not immediate. In 2020, the average wait time was approximately 25 days, with a much lower volume of requests than now.
In addition, the affected person has to pay for the towing service, which can amount to up to $500. As if that were not enough, the city’s maintenance service, which also manages requests, is overwhelmed.
Faced with repeated complaints from neighbors, the local government has gotten to work to try to solve the problem. In March, a new budget line was approved so that Oakland can expand towing service and establish new storage spaces for abandoned vehicles, a measure that seeks to relieve pressure on the streets and improve the quality of life of the community. city.
