Mayor Fischer, LMPD Chief Shields Provide Update

Louisville KY

31 March, 2022

4:48 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Louisville: March 25, 2022 Mayor Greg Fischer today joined Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Chief Erika Shields and Major Emily McKinley to provide an update on recent improvements in getting abandoned and wrecked vehicles off the streets. "Over the years, many of our agencies, including LMPD, Facilities, and Louisville Forward have worked with Metro Council and residents to find solutions to the complicated issues plaguing our impound lot," said the Mayor. "Significant progress has been made over the past several months, including the amnesty ordinance, regularly scheduled auctions, a new auxiliary storage location, tracking improvements and easier reporting through Metro311, which are helping alleviate overcrowding at our existing lot." Efforts include: Metro311: The city has enhanced its Metro311 app to include an option for users to report abandoned vehicles. A picture of the vehicle and the location are all that's needed; the report will be routed to LMPD. "I am confident in the direction we're moving with LMPD's Impound Lot," said Chief Shields. "We have identified several points of action to improve the handling of abandoned vehicles and the function of the lot. Additionally, we are enhancing technology to streamline the processing of vehicles." In December2021, the city announced plans for a new LMPD auction lot located off 7th Street Road to mitigate the challenge of abandoned vehicles. The Mayor noted that "the steps we are taking now will better help us understand the size of how many vehicles we need to deal with. After that, we can assess what role the 7th Street property will play." Since January 2022, LMPD has towed 267 abandoned vehicles from Louisville roadways. The city's existing Impound Lot, located for at least 50 years at 1478 Frankfort Ave. in Butchertown, serves as the main temporary storage area for cars towed from throughout the city, and as a longer-term storage area for vehicles being held as evidence in a legal proceeding. Its capacity is about 1,800 vehicles, and today there are roughly 1,250 cars stored on the lot. "We believe these measures assist in our whole-of-government approach to public safety," said the Mayor. "Getting abandoned vehicles off the roadways creates safer communities for residents and our officers." This press release was produced by the City of Louisville. The views expressed here are the author's own.