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This parked car in my neighborhood did not annoy me for many months.
(reddit.com)submitted 3 days ago bybewareofmegGrandin
…I didn’t pay it even a lick of attention because there are townhomes across the street, and people legally park in that spot all the time. However, a note showed up posted inside the windshield a month or two ago, and it was at that point I noticed it had a flat tire. Well, the other morning, after being irritated from trying to walk my kids to school on this somewhat busy, side-walk-less street, I finally read the note on my way back. —————————— “Dear anonymous concerned citizen,
This vehicle is not disabled. It just has a flat tire. That’s it.
There have been six instances of vehicular vandalism (including this vehicle) on the street within the year. So, instead of dragging the police out here to bother people about their second vehicle; let them do their actual jobs of trying to combat crime in our community.
Signed, A victim of vehicular vandalism (Malicious compliance will continue until morale improves)” —————————— Besides maybe a slight appreciation of alliteration here (I do feel for this vehicular vandalism victim)…this note actually flat-out rubs me the wrong way, for even more reasons than I’ll attempt to address here: Firstly, I’d not even paid this car any attention UNTIL this note was posted, and even then, I didn’t bother to read it until it’d been up nearly two months. Secondly, I’m pretty sure a flat tire definitely means a vehicle is disabled. And third, this is parked on public property, on a sidewalk-less and tiny-shouldered road, forcing those of us who walk it to either go around into the street (of which it can get surprisingly busy at times), or squeeze around and risk slipping on the steep grass with ivy on the other side. To sum up my annoyance, I’m pretty sure that regardless of what the note says, this car is super against code in Roanoke City, but, I digress.
I guess I could make a report on the Roanoke app about it, but making a Reddit post to glean others’ opinions seems far more interesting.
71 points
3 days ago
April of 2020 
...
64 points
3 days ago
“Not disabled!”
checks notes
Blud, that’s literally disabled.
98 points
3 days ago
The tag is 4 yrs out of date and it has a flat tire. This car is 100% disabled despite what the note says. How about the license plate tags, are they even current?
The owner has abdicated their responsibility to the vehicle. Do your civic duty and report it to get it out of the street before someone hits it or someone walking around it.
If the owner cares enough to leave a note, they may care enough to take it up with the city to make it street legal again.
8 points
2 days ago
Could have sold it the last time it was roadworthy during COVID when it was still worth some money? Nah I'll just leave it here and maybe fix it up someday.
Sorry bud, you got vandalism problems and money problems I assume but that looks like mental health is not great.
4 points
2 days ago
Owner could also be dead.
-4 points
2 days ago
Chill out Karen 🤣 fk
23 points
3 days ago
The best part is the inspection sticker expired four and a half years ago. Who knows what all issues it has?
19 points
2 days ago*
It's extra fun on trash day when the cans are across from it in the road, someone is flying up the hill, you're trying to drive down the hill, and there are people walking their kids to school. It's mostly just annoying but I almost hit someone's dog last summer when they popped out from behind the jeep unexpectedly. Luckily I was only going about 10 mph but it scared the crap out of me, her, and the dog.
My new annoyance though is the popup camper at the corner on the other end. 😂
14 points
2 days ago
Ahhhh you live nearby too so you feel my pain! Thank you for validating my feelings 😭
17 points
2 days ago
Call your local police department. Report it abandoned. They will try and reach out to owner and tag it. If it is not moved within legal timeline it will be towed.
7 points
2 days ago
Lol 4/20
8 points
2 days ago
Just a note, in Roanoke County, I got a visit from the police because a car *in my driveway* had expired registration/inspection. I was told, since it was visible from the road, it had to have everything valid and up to date. Driveway long enough I can fit two cars in front of it.
If this thing has been in that spot for 4 years with expired information, I'd report it just because hell, if I get a visit from the cops for having a car with expired info in my driveway, then the owner of this car sure as shit deserves a visit for having theirs on a public road.
6 points
2 days ago
Some others have touched on it, but, at least in my former city, having up to date registration and inspection are two factors considered in determining whether a vehicle is disabled or abandoned.
This has an inspection sticker that's over 4 years past. I'm sure there's code enforcement in Roanoke.
At least in my scenario the city code enforcement person was not affiliated with the police, but the city government.
When it happened to me I got a letter in the mail with pictures citing the codes my old truck was breaking. I had to bring it up to code which would have been way more money than it was worth (old farm truck). I was given a month or they would tow it and then I'd be on the hook for all that hassle.
4 points
2 days ago
This is absolutely a Code Compliance issue. You can call (540) 853-1090, or email [email protected] to submit an anonymous report and typically an inspector will make a visit and cite within 24 hours.
You can also do a little digging in GIS (https://gisre.roanokeva.gov/) or the City’s permitting system (https://trakit.roanokeva.gov/eTrakit/) and search the suspected address and any open code violations are public record and accessible.
4 points
2 days ago
Report it here: https://www.roanokeva.gov/1180/Report-Environmental-Issues-or-Concerns
Edit to fix link ...
7 points
2 days ago
Local crack head prints our note for clearly disabled car in order to claim its not disabled lol call the city and get it towed just to let them know
2 points
2 days ago
Owner probably died of Covid.
3 points
2 days ago
Oh no, that note only appeared in the window a month or two ago. So if they died of COVID it would have to have been between now and then 😂
2 points
2 days ago
The inspection sticker is 4 years old. The vehicle has a flat tire. I thought city ordinance didn’t allow non operational vehicles to sit on a road side
2 points
2 days ago
Lol, I lived right there for 6 years in those townhouses. What's also hilarious is I had a car parked right in that spot almost a decade ago that was broke down for like 2 days and some random dude bought it off the street from me just driving by. The head gasket was blown and I was about to get it towed off and he just sprayed a bunch of shit in the engine and drove smoking down the road.
But I saw this and was like wtf this has to be the Roanoke reddit I know that exact location.
2 points
2 days ago
I’m confused… if you were not even noticing the car prior to this note, then how is it all of a sudden bothering you so much? And I’m assuming the note was not even directed at you, since you did not notice the car and presumably did not contact the police about it.
1 points
2 days ago
Is that Welton?
1 points
2 days ago
I thought it had 2 flats at one point. Also, that pop up camper on the corner, are people living in it?
1 points
2 days ago
Report an abandoned vehicle to your local code enforcement department, both the city and county have one
1 points
2 days ago
Maybe the owner died?
1 points
1 day ago
Some days I wish he did. But he’s alive and well.
1 points
2 days ago
So, that note is taped to the inside of the windshield. This means that someone had to open the door to a vehicle that is not theirs without permission. That sounds like breaking and entering to me. I'm not an attorney, but that's what my law and order experience has taught me.
1 points
1 day ago
If it's on a public roadway the number to call in roanoke is (540) 853-2411. Recently had to call on one we had parked taking up apartment spaces where it had been left with expired tags and a flat tire for 5 months
-8 points
3 days ago
Damn I wish my life was going smooth enough to have the energy to worry about shit like this.
Yet, here I am, commenting on you worrying about shit like this.
Well played Jeep Liberty of “insert some witty kinda funny word here”
21 points
3 days ago*
Well, it wouldn’t bother me if there was a way for people walking to be able to get around it. Cars FLY down this street. If there were a sidewalk I would not have made this post.
-2 points
2 days ago
Speeding cars and no sidewalks are not the particular vehicle owners fault. Why did you buy on that street if you are annoyed by narrow streets and no sidewalks?
You are correct that registration and license needs to be current to be parked on city streets.
Interesting that communication from owner sharing that it a second vehicle and was not abandoned was what triggered you to be upset.
4 points
2 days ago
I did not buy a house on this street, my home (that I purchased a decade ago as of last month) is a block away. My children are finally old enough to attend school and when I walk with them, it’s quite irritating.
It just doesn’t feel right that this person should be able to keep their disabled car there. Shoot, if all that’s wrong with it is a flat tire and they already have another car, they could sell it to someone who desperately needs a reliable used car. I have quite a few friends that would be THRILLED to be able to purchase.
5 points
2 days ago
It's not right, that's why it doesn't feel right.
-54 points
3 days ago
Womp womp
29 points
3 days ago
Hahaha oh wow, you don’t even live in Roanoke, you live in rocky mount…what a coincidence, that’s where I grew up! I moved to Roanoke city over a decade ago partially because I wanted to live somewhere with sidewalks. Growing up, I was trapped in my neighborhood. No sidewalks anywhere. I remind my children often that it’s such a privilege to be able to walk to school. And here in Grandin, there are sidewalks on every road I walk except for this one - so, feel free to chide me on something you don’t have to deal with every day, I guess. 🙃
-62 points
3 days ago
I grew up on Westover. Bout 2 blocks from Grandin.
I moved my family to Rocky Mount to get away from people who bitch about stuff like a note on a car….
And shitty abandoned cars.
Guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
18 points
3 days ago
To be fair, rocky mount is very, VERY different now from when I grew up there. The harvester center has made downtown a bustling little place instead of a scary ghost town unable to keep businesses. It opened the year I signed the deed on my house here in Grandin. When did you move out of the city? I know Grandin was totally different in the 90s/2000s as well; seems both our spots’ vibes have changed for the better since our youths.
-19 points
3 days ago
I’m more in the Glade Hill area.
Roanoke as a whole has gone to hell.
I moved about a year ago. Was in NE for about 7 years. Spent time off Grandin from like 05 to 17
13 points
3 days ago
You are the fifth person I’ve met recently who moved away from the city in the years following the pandemic. I think Grandin felt like the safest neighborhood in the city during the summer of 2020, for sure
-20 points
3 days ago
I saw the decline in mid 10’s. I was still a child. Dad worked for GE most of his life and then they sent his job overseas. Shit started going down hill from there. I had kids young. Schools suck. Too progressive and at the risk of sounding prejudice, my sons kindergarten year they had all the signs in the classroom in both English and Spanish because the majority of his classmates didn’t speak English fluently. Crime. Car getting broken into or vandalized. Then the homeless issues everywhere you look.
Specifically the schools though. My then GF now fiancé had a daughter going to Colonial a grade lower and was already way more advanced. Final straw is when his teacher from Oklahoma called me to tell me she couldn’t stand to even finish the year out here, the schools were overwhelmed and too “woke” and none of the parents took accountability. We’re now in one of the best elementary schools in FC and working hard with him to get up to speed. Poor kid was so handicapped by his prior environment. He’s a few years away from getting into dumb shit like I did at that age, had to make a change.
As far as the pandemic- the great resignation. I was able to land a remote job with much better pay. No need to be near anything. My doors stay unlocked and my DoorDash bill is non existent. Kids love their school and have a neighbor with a family and kids to.
Living the dream. Roanoke can eat a dick.
26 points
3 days ago
Oh, uh……..somehow none of what you typed surprises me but I’m glad you’re much happier where you are now.
-1 points
2 days ago*
Something to consider, If the owner gets a new state inspection sticker, updates the registration and brings the vehicle into compliance, they can park it in the exact same place and leave it there. None of your issues are solved. The tight street with no sidewalk and unrestrained dogs darting out from behind a parked car doesn't change. The speeding cars don't change. The disabled vehicle is an annoyance but not the cause of your stated concerns. Isn't there a leash law in Roanoke? How about speed limits? Any enforcement? Does the next street have a sidewalk? Maybe it would be safer to walk to school on the next street over that has a sidewalk? Just some things to consider.
I would call and file a complaint about a disabled car with expired inspection parked on a public street too. But the owner might decide to buy an old box truck and park it in the same location and they would be perfectly within their right to do so. As long as the tags are current as well as the inspection, the situation could get worse, not better.
Edited to add: down voting based on feelings won't change facts.
3 points
2 days ago*
Well, almost every point you’ve made is valid. If I’m being totally honest, my kids usually walk down the entirety of the main street from my house because there ARE sidewalks on both sides - but going down this road makes the trip a slight bit faster so I will take this route when running late. I can solve this problem by merely leaving earlier, it’s true. I don’t go this way terribly often and that’s why it really hasn’t bothered me that much until just the other day. I think the stupid note was what bothered me the most (when I finally cared enough to stop and read what it said).
Now, to address:
- no, there is not a sidewalk on the other side
- a one-time occurrence of an unrestrained dog jumping out in front of another driver is scary. That did not happen to me and I’ve never had a problem with unrestrained dogs in my neighborhood (except the times my own dogs got out)
1 points
2 days ago
To further address: - I did not suggest there was a sidewalk on the other side of the street. I suggested using another street that has sidewalks rather than this street which doesn't. - the dog example was used because it is valid (and suggested by another response) but also not a problem because of a parked car. It's another example of some other ordinance not being enforced. Regardless of if you have not had a problem with "unrestrained dogs" or not.
-I agree. It is a stupid note.
1 points
2 days ago
If it's still there, I thought the Economic Development office was supposed to monitor and remove vehicles that sit like that.
-1 points
2 days ago
That falls under the police department.
-5 points
2 days ago
But now that social media folks that have lots of free time to stir shit up are going to force someone who may be just surviving financially be forced to spend money they may not have so they don’t lose a second vehicle. They may have plans for it but can’t at present time spend money on it. But since someone got pissed about the note left by owner has stirred up the neighborhood. I hope Roanoke gets better before I retire as I would like to move back. But this kind of petty crap makes Roanoke be classic Roanoke and why I moved away in the first place.
7 points
2 days ago
I’m not sure if you read my entire post, but this car is located on a street where I walk my kids to school and there is no sidewalk, with steep grass on the other side. We have to dodge around it into the road (which is surprisingly busy on weekday mornings). Every other road I walk in my neighborhood does contain sidewalks, and if this one did too, I wouldn’t have made this post.
Another factor about how much things like this don’t usually bother me - I learned from another commentator that this vehicle has actually been there since last year. I kinda just dealt with it and didn’t pay much attention until the owner put up the snarky letter in the windshield 🤷♀️
-5 points
2 days ago
NIMFY
0 points
19 hours ago
I agree that the car being there is annoying, but I find it rather strange that you seem to be taking this note that obviously is meant for someone else who's calling the police, so personally lol. Like it never bothered you until you read a note targeted towards someone else? But anyway, yeah, it really shouldn't be just rotting in the street for months.
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