Derelict vehicle crackdown leaves KSAMC pound at capacity

Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby says the vehicle pound of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is at capacity after removing more than 700 derelict vehicles from the streets since January.

Swaby said the municipal corporation has been carrying out a campaign to remove abandoned and derelict vehicles from roadsides across Kingston and St Andrew.

“We would have moved in excess of 700 vehicles. Most of these vehicles are in a state that they cannot be driven. They are left on the roadside by residents.”

He said many of the vehicles are no longer roadworthy and have been abandoned by residents, with some owners having migrated and left their vehicles behind.

He stated that the vehicles pose both public health and security risks, prompting residents to repeatedly call for their removal.

Swaby said residents have been calling for the vehicles to be removed, but the municipality is now facing a major challenge because its vehicle pound is full.

“Residents have been calling us: ‘Move these vehicles’, and we have been trying our utmost best to get them off the road. But we have our own challenges. Here, right in the pound, it is filled to capacity. We don't have any more space for them.”

The mayor noted that the municipality has incurred costs associated with removing and storing the vehicles but has been unable to recover those expenses in many cases.

“There are people who have left their vehicle on the road. We have taken them up, and now we have had them,” said Swaby.

He noted that the Pound Act requires the corporation to retain the vehicles for a stipulated period, even in cases where owners show no interest in reclaiming them.

“The Pound Act has handicapped us because we have to hold it for a stipulated period of time. There are instances where they have gone to auction more than one time, and persons have no interest in them.”

Swaby is urging residents to take responsibility for disposing of vehicles that have become derelict rather than leaving them on public roads.

“I just want to encourage residents of Kingston and St Andrew that when you have your derelict vehicle, as with a stage where they have become derelict, try and dispose of them in the proper way,” he said.

He said one option is for owners to identify legitimate scrap-metal companies that can take the vehicles.

The mayor said the corporation is continuing to explore ways to deal with the vehicles while remaining within the law.

“We are still trying our best to work within the law to see how best we can dispose of these vehicles. But as I say, the law has kept us confined to certain things, so we have to follow the law.”

Swaby is also urging residents to comply with notices to remove derelict vehicles before enforcement action is taken.

“In many cases, after more than one notice we have issued for the person to remove their vehicle, it's only when the wrecker turns up that persons make an attempt to remove it.”

He said the abandoned vehicles are particularly problematic when they are left on sidewalks, where they can obstruct pedestrians.

“We're asking persons to adhere to the laws of the municipality, because these vehicles on the sidewalk impede pedestrians, especially our most vulnerable persons: the person in the wheelchair, the blind persons.”

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