Denver residents complain about 2 abandoned vehicles, claiming they've been there over a year
Neighbors in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood say they have been begging the city to address abandoned vehicles on their street for more than a year.
After countless attempts to contact city officials, a fellow neighbor reached out for help.
"You can see tickets that have been on there, tires are flat, no license plates," said Mats Weissenberg, a Denver resident.
Residents in the Capitol Hill neighborhood are fed up.
"In Capitol Hill, parking is at a premium," Weissenberg said. "There's just not enough parking, and for vehicles to take valuable space, it gets on the residents' nerves, mine included."
Weissenberg says a black Saab Turbo without license plates and a red Ford Escape with Ohio plates have been parked on his block since December 2023.
"It's an eyesore, along with probably a public health hazard," Weissenberg said.
Within the last year, Weissenberg reported these vehicles to city officials 16 times.
"I have talked to police," Weissenberg said. "I've talked to non-emergency police. I've talked to parking attendants who do street sweeping. I've made phone calls. I've done everything, and there's been no resolution."
In Denver, vehicles must be moved every three days when parked on the street.
"People, for all I know, could be living in it," Weissenberg said. "It's snowed; it's rained; the leaves have inundated it, and yet the city, or whomever, just don't respond."
Another resident claims to have seen the cars move but come right back to the same block.
"They move during the street sweeping season," Denver resident Thomas Lugo said.
Street sweeping season in Denver begins in April and ends in November.
We reached out to both the Denver Sheriff's Department, which oversees the towing of abandoned vehicles, and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, which handles street sweeping.
According to DOTI, the red Ford Escape with Ohio plates was cited six times in 2024, and those tickets have been paid.
The Denver Sheriff's Department sent CBS News Colorado the following statement:
"The Denver Sheriff Department's (DSD) Vehicle Impound Facility (VIF) checked on the vehicles multiple times in response to complaints and per the Denver's Revised Municipal Code Subsection (7). The DSD posted notices on the vehicles multiple times however the vehicles were moved within seventy-two hours preventing the ability to tow the vehicles. The DSD checked on the vehicles on February 3 and the vehicles had not been moved, therefore the vehicles were towed."
"It's kind of an eyesore," Thomas said.
