BALTIMORE — Call in a city tow truck.
That’s the message from people living in Baltimore’s Pigtown.
Residents told WMAR-2 News they’re tired of making calls to 311 about abandoned pickup truck.
If it was a driveable vehicle and had three outstanding citations, this Chevy Avalanche would have gotten the boot. Instead, it just sits at the corner of W. Ostend Street near Washington Blvd.
“It’s taking up parking and it’s been there a while,” said Edward Albert Smith. “They keep putting tickets on it but they don’t move it.”
Since April, no one has moved the truck. Not the owner or Baltimore Department of Transportation, despite tickets stating it would be towed in two days.
“It seems to be a problem around here in general,” said resident Russell Wiley. “Somebody abandons it and then everybody in the neighborhood takes their doing whatever they want with it, stripping it.”
And that could be the case with the pickup. It’s already missing its side view mirrors.
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“It might be stolen. You never know,” Smith said. “I mean it doesn’t have any plates on it. They should run the VIN number to see who it belongs to.”
WMAR-2 News found parking citations piled up under the vehicle’s windshield wiper along with citations from DOT.
It’s clear no cares, not even Baltimore City, despite taking the time to fill out reports and issue warnings.
People in Pigtown told WMAR-2 News having the truck sit sends the wrong message to a neighborhood trying to build itself up.
“This area is getting better, slowly,” said Wiley. “People moving in don’t want to see those kinds of things. It doesn’t look good for anyone to see that.”
What people want is for the city to enforce the 48-hour ordinance and tow the truck away.
“I’d like to see it moved,” said Smith.
“Something can be done,” said Wiley. “Clean it up, please!”
WMAR-2 News has contacted DOT along with the Mayor’s Office.
We’ve also submitted pictures of the truck.
Our goal is to have it removed by the end of the week.
If you have a story idea or community concern, you’d like reporter Dave Detling to investigate contact him at dave.detling@wmar.com
