Memphis impound lot so over capacity, tow truck drivers take to city council for solutions (TN)

[TowNews]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The car theft epidemic in Memphis has created yet another problem.

 

There’s no room at the inn at the city’s impound lot in Frayser. It is packed to capacity, and customers and tow truck operators say wait times and fees are agonizing.

 

Having your car stolen or getting into a car accident is hard enough. Losing a whole day at work to go get your car from the Memphis police impound lot requires a great deal of patience and money.

 

And that’s even if the staff at the impound lot can find your car.

 

Clifford Bynum and his brother Taylen spent all day at the MPD lot trying to recover his stolen car.

 

“These are the cars the bad guys want,” Clifford said, pointing to his ride. “And they didn’t even steal anything out of my car. I’ve been here five, six hours now and I’m missing work. I’m missing work. That’s money I’m supposed to be making right now.”

 

The lot is built to hold 2,000 cars.

 

But with the city’s explosion in car thefts, 4,000-plus vehicles are now crammed into part of what used to be the old International Harvester plant. 

 

The city acquired the property in the 1980s and opened the impound lot in the early ‘90s.

 

A tow truck driver who declined to give his name spent 11 hours waiting to pick up a car and put it on his wrecker.

 

He told Action News 5, “The wait is so long. It’s very ill-managed up here. The cars are so packed together that they’re bumper to bumper, and sometimes they’re crushed against each other. The best way to put it: the forklift has a hard time getting around. I mean, there are potholes that would swallow a semi.”

 

More frustrated tow truck operators went before the Memphis City Council on Tuesday.

 

“There were 80 companies on rotation 10 years ago when I started my company,” said Evan Mealer with Blues City Towing. “Now it’s down to about 40. The reason is, it’s not economically viable. That’s part of the problem you’re having, with tow truck response times for police.”

 

“We can’t afford to keep tying up trucks at the low rate we’re receiving now,” Nathaniel Fripp of 901 Express Towing & Recovery told the council. “We need an increase.”

The City of Memphis currently pays $125 a tow, a price that has not changed in 16 years.

 

A company called Auto Return made a presentation to the council on streamlining the towing process using a new dispatch system. 

 

Shelby County Government, they said, is among their newest clients.

But when tow truck operators were asked what they thought of the company’s pitch to the city, loud groans and a collective “no, absolutely not” could be heard from the audience.

“Our issue here in the city is not dispatch,” said towing operator Angela Inman. “Our issue in this city is at the impound lot.”

 

It’s an impound lot that is overflowing with cars and long wait times, and customers say the city needs to fix it and fix it fast.

 

“I mean it’s messed up,” said Clifford. “It’s messed up. It’s messed up that the car got stolen in the first place. It’s messed up bro.”

An MPD spokesperson would only say: “a review of the impound lot will be presented at the next city council meeting.”

The next meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 24.

 

”It’s ridiculous,” said the tow truck driver who’d been at the lot since 5 a.m. and was still there at 4 p.m. when Action News 5 arrived. “It’s time for a change!”

 

Building a new impound lot, staffing up and creating a workflow that actually works better for customers, and hiring Auto Return to help with the process are all options for the city council to consider.

 

Action News 5′s request to talk with someone at MPD about the problems at the impound lot was denied, and no additional information was provided by the police agency.

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

 

[TowZone]

MPD impound lot at overcapacity, causes headache for city tow truck drivers

 

 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you have to pick up your car from the Memphis Police Impound Lot, be prepared for a long day.

 

MPD said about 11,000 vehicles were stolen last year.

 

That’s caused congestion.

 

“Just sitting up there waiting and waiting. I sat up there for 4.5 hours before,” Travis Madlock, an East Memphis Wrecker Service tow truck operator.

He said that he is frustrated with the long wait times at the police’s impound lot.

 

“There are just so many cars, it’s backed in and you have a lot of people up there who are trying to get their cars out but unable to because they can’t get a tow truck to come up there to get their cars,” said Madlock.

 

Drone13 footage showed the impound lot filled with vehicles.

 

It’s built to have 2,000 cars. There is limited space, cars are parked bumper to bumper, debris is scattered everywhere.

Drivers have up to 30 days to pick up their vehicle.

 

But a meeting Tuesday, City Council mentioned the lot is at a capacity with nearly 3,000 cars and now uses space across the street belonging to Jimmy T. Woods Trucking.

 

One of the leading factors of the massive overload is the staggering number of car thefts across the city.

 

“Car thefts are through the roof, and the reality is when they find them, it yields more tows. And it creates more traffic at the impound lot, which is more congestion,” said Evan Mealer, Blue City Towing owner.

 

The City of Memphis pays $125 a tow, and it’s been 16 years since the ordinance changed.

 

Blue City Towing owner Evan Mealer said Wednesday that the city owed his business more than $10,000 in services.

 

“We are a big part of the automobile industry,” Mealer said. “Anybody that’s broken down, wrecked, out of gas or has a flat tire, they have to call one of us. We always hope that doesn’t happen but it’s a reality.”

 

Memphis Police said a review of the impound lot will be presented at the next city council meeting on Jan. 24.

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

[Moose]

Marked my Calendar for January 24th, as I want to follow this one.