Hundreds of abandoned cars still litter the streets in the south of Tenerife

Abandoned vehicles dumped at the side of the road or in parking spaces in the South of Tenerife, is an old problem that continues to get worse over time. However, it is increasingly worrying the local councils of the region, which carry out constant campaigns to remove them from public and private spaces, as they represent a security problem and eliminate parking spaces, as well as making the landscape ugly as they deteriorate.

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, and there are another fifty waiting to be taken away in Guargacho, just a few kilometres away.

The Councillor for Security and Traffic in San Miguel de Abona, Antonio Manuel Rodríguez, said: “We have detected that in the places close to garages and repair shops the problem is aggravated, and more and more cars are seen, perhaps because they cannot pay for the repairs or they cannot get parts.”

Rodríguez went on to explain that: “the solution to getting the car removed is very simple but we need citizen collaboration. The owner just needs to go to the local police and fill out a form authorizing the removal of the vehicle at no cost".

ARONA:
Arona has had more than 400 abandoned cars removed from the street and taken to its municipal deposit. Currently, there are still around 200 on the streets. When a vehicle with obvious signs of abandonment is detected, such as flat tyres, broken windows, or an ITV that has expired for a long time, it is taken to the deposit and a file is opened that notifies the owner where it is, or it is published in the town hall, if the owner can’t be located.

If there is no response or claim for the vehicle after the established period, it is sent to an authorized treatment centre for its destruction, a protocol that all municipalities follow.

The Councillor 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 Council before disposing of it in a public space. "We provide the solution, which allows the municipality to save resources and time," he explained.

GRANADILLA DE ABONA:
The Council of Granadilla de Abona started a new campaign to remove abandoned vehicles on August 1st, the third one they’ve done after clearing hundreds of abandoned vehicles from the streets in the previous two with the help of local residents.

The Councillor for Security, María Candelaria Rodríguez, says that an average of six vehicles are removed every day. “It is an easy process” she explained, “anyone can go to the local police station and request that a vehicle be removed completing the corresponding documentation”, who recalled that, once the legal term has elapsed, if the car has not been removed by its owner, it will be declared as ‘urban solid waste’ and will be removed, before sending it to a treatment centre for subsequent destruction and decontamination.