The vehicle abandonment in the South, an old problem that increases with the passage of time, increasingly worries the town councils of the region, which carry out constant campaigns to remove them from public and private spaces, aware that scrap metal in streets and lots are sources of dirt, they represent a security problem and they eliminate car parks, in addition to making the landscape ugly.
One of the most affected areas where this problem is clearly seen is the Las Chafiras industrial estate, in San Miguel de Abona, where there are more than 200 abandoned cars, according to data from the Local Police. Another fifty units are waiting to be withdrawn in the surroundings of Guargacho, a few kilometers away.
“We have detected that in the places close to the repair shops the problem is aggravated, more and more cases are seen, perhaps because they cannot pay for the repairs,” Antonio Manuel Rodríguez, Councilor for Security and Traffic, told this newspaper, who did not explains how so many citizens resort to this bad habit, “when the solution is as simple as going to the local police and filling out a form authorizing the removal of the vehicle at no cost”. The mayor was grateful for the citizen collaboration when informing the City Council about cases of abandonment on public roads.
arona
Arona has received more than 400 useless cars withdrawn from the street in its municipal deposit. Currently, the figure is around 200. When a vehicle with obvious signs of abandonment is detected, such as tires on the ground, broken glass or the ITV that has expired for a long time, it is taken to the deposit and a file is started that is notified to the owner or is published, in case of not locating it.
Once the established period expires, it has been notified without receiving a response or published without a claim, the vehicle is sent to an authorized treatment center for its destruction, a protocol that all municipalities apply.
The Councilor for Security of Arona, Francisco Marichal, underlined the “significant advances” that have occurred in the last two years and recommended that citizens who want to get rid of a car notify the City Council before disposing of it in a public space. “We provide the solution, which allows the municipality to save resources and time,” he stressed.
Passion fruit
The City Council of Granadilla de Abona undertook a campaign to remove abandoned vehicles on August 1, the third, after getting rid of “hundreds” in the previous two. The Councilor for Security, María Candelaria Rodríguez, told this newspaper that an average of six units are removed every day. The mayor, who requested the collaboration of citizens to communicate known cases of abandonment, insisted that the possibility of voluntary delivery for the treatment of scrap is offered, after declaration of waste.
“You can go to the local police offices, where the transfer will be facilitated and expedited with the delivery of the corresponding documentation”, explained the councilor, who recalled that, once the legal term has elapsed, if the car is not removed for its owner, it will be declared urban solid waste and will be discharged, before sending it to a treatment center for subsequent destruction and decontamination.
