Pico Union neighborhood deals with abandoned cars piling up on sidewalks

PICO UNION, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Parts of Southern California are becoming littered with abandoned cars, prompting some to demand action.

People in a Pico Union neighborhood say dumped vehicles started popping up on the sidewalk about three months ago.

"It's not really pleasant to go walking out and seeing that in the streets," said Vania Colindres, pointing to two abandoned SUVs and a Volkswagen Beetle that has no engine.

They sit on the sidewalk across from her home in Pico Union. One of them, a black Cadillac Escalade, was surrounded by trash, giving the impression it hasn't moved in quite some time.

"It's kind of scary because you don't know what's in there and then you never know who (left) it here," Colindres said. "That's also something that's very concerning."

The three vehicles are dumped on the 1600 block of South Berendo Street in Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo's district.

"We already made calls, and we're going to resolve this issue as soon as possible," said Luis Gonzalez, the councilman's senior field deputy.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is the agency that deals with abandoned vehicles. It tells Eyewitness News that it received no complaints on two of the vehicles, but that LAPD cited the Escalade on June 22 for having no registration.

LADOT says it receives about 125,000 reports of dumped cars and trucks each year. But in the last fiscal year it removed just 7,180 vehicles.

LADOT data from this year shows the Highland Park and Eagle Rock area has the most reports of abandoned vehicles, followed by Echo Park and Los Feliz.

Meantime, Gonzalez says if the LADOT isn't responding, call your city councilman's office.

'We have a direct contact with a lot of the departments and people here on the ground to take care of these issues," he said.