NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The city of Nashville has been without their abandoned vehicle contractor for over a year and residents in East Nashville are starting to notice more and more unwanted vehicles left on their streets.   

“This is the car that has been here the longest; it’s been here a year and a half now,” Carter Koontz said. 

With a busted window and a broken bumper, it’s not the only eyesore on Koontz’s street.   

“Followed by the black truck, which has been here six or seven months now and the newest one we gained on Friday,” said Koontz. 

Koontz said she’s reported the cars to the Metro Nashville Police Department’s non-emergency line, city codes, and on hubNashville, but has reached a dead end.  

Meanwhile, the unwanted extended park jobs have become a trend in East Nashville.   

In May, a car was finally removed from a school drop off lane after sitting there for years. 

“There is back log and it’s taking a lot of time to get to all of these abandoned cars that have been reported,” said Metro Councilmember Sean Parker, who oversees District 5 which spans across part of East Nashville.

Parker said the city’s main contractor that removes abandoned cars quit the business over a year ago, which left the city to rely on emergency contractors.  

“We didn’t have anyone to do this work. I worked with the previous administration and the departments to engage some of our existing emergency contractors into the abandoned vehicle program, and that’s beginning to show some results,” Parker said 

However, he said it’s not a quick process.   

“We do have some noticing requirements. We need to make sure the owner of the vehicle is aware that it’s been flagged. We have to look for the title to see if there are any lienholders,” Parker said.   

Meanwhile on Shelby Avenue, trash is building around the vehicles. Koontz is trying to keep the street clean after she adopted it.   

“That’s been one of my main frustrations is that it has taken a long time to get this problem solved, and I feel like I have done as much as I can on my end but have been a little frustrated for it to get taken care of on the government’s side,” Koontz said.  

Parker said to report an abandoned car, you can call hubNashville at 311 or go online. He said if all else fails, reach out to your city councilmember.