LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- The overcrowded impound lot on Frankfort Avenue has left abandoned and broken down vehicles crowding city streets and highways for weeks at a time.
“It’s an eyesore,” said Margaret Phillips, who has had to look at the beat-up Lexus outside her home on Breckinridge Avenue for more than three months.
“We got neighbors here. They can't park there in front of their house because there's an abandoned car there,” she explained.
Right now, the city’s tow lot is more than 400 vehicles over capacity, and it’s an issue Lt. Col. Rob Schroeder has been fighting to solve for almost a year, hunting for a new space.
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“It is something high on our list. Unfortunately, it's been a very difficult process,” he told WHAS11 News.
In the meantime, LMPD is working with Louisville Metro's fleet facility on Newburg Road for a temporary solution: to store abandoned vehicles there. It's only been about six weeks, but Lt. Col. Schroeder said it's made a significant dent.
“We've been able to tow about 183 cars off the streets, abandoned cars off the streets,” he said.
For the new impound lot, Schroeder said he's still searching for the perfect location. Current requirements would keep it away from any neighborhoods, and not in a floodplain, like the current lot.
“We can't really put cars on this space, so this space really is sitting here empty,” he pointed out.
He was also hoping for about 1,700 acres of land, but after more than 40 site visits, he said they've had to adjust the wish list.
“What we're looking to do at this point is consider maybe even some smaller spaces with one main lot for the tow lot operation and an, potentially, an overflow lot for the vehicles like the abandoned cars that are less likely to come get picked up,” Lt. Col. Schroeder explained.
The lot is also midst the future soccer stadium site and the Waterfront Botanical Gardens, and will soon be out of place. Lt. Col. Schroeder said he’s determined to find the right space so that the current problem doesn’t reappear in the future.
►Contact reporter Heather Fountaine at hfountaine@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Heather) and Facebook.