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And it’s been sitting there since Dec. 1.
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An Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra parked at the corner of King and Wilson Streets in Winona Wednesday is disappearing into the snow. The car has been parked on the street since since Dec. 1, and neighbors now call it "the car that won’t get towed away."
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News |
Neighbors have come to call it “the car that will never get towed.”
It doesn’t appear to be a nuisance. One woman who lives on the block said it’s like a game to her. Every morning she checks to see if it was towed overnight. So far the car has won every day.
She said she saw three people start to dig it out and get the car started, but the battery was dead. They apparently left to go buy a new one, but never returned. She said they might have just resigned to letting someone else dispose of the old junker.
So far, no one has stepped up to do it. The police won’t tow it away until someone complains about it violating the 20-hour parking ordinance, said Winona Police Chief Frank Pomeroy. As soon as that happens, it’ll be gone, he said.
So what about alternate-side parking tickets? The neighbor said she saw only one ticket on the car over the last month. Pomeroy said she likely just didn’t see others left there, but it was possible because there may only be four officers patrolling overnight and they can be easily side-tracked from issuing alternate-side parking tickets by other calls for service.
When it snows, it’s up to the city’s street department to determine whether or not to tag and tow cars left on the wrong side of the street, Pomeroy said.
Although messages left for the street department weren’t immediately returned Wednesday afternoon, it’s apparent the car has just somehow slipped under the radar. Take one look at it, and it’s clear the plows will just drive around it now, further burying the Olds in snow.
So until someone officially complains to the police department, the poor white Ciera will likely just sit there, accumulating mounds of snow.
And one neighbor will keep playing her game.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
El Uno wrote on Dec 28, 2007 12:37 PM: