Truck at NE41st St and Surber Causing Safety Hazard And Violating City Parking Ordinance

The Laurelhurst Blog has received many messages about a truck parked at the intersection of NE 41st Street and NE Surber Drive on the Talaris side of the street.

Nearby residents say it has been there for several months and rarely moves though the tabs are up to date. Drives say it  is causing a safety hazard with its location and is filled with random junk that is getting very wet - a suitcase, wood and other items.

Here is what the City of Seattle 72-hour On-Street Parking Ordinance says:

Regardless of whether or not there is any sign posted, the City's Traffic Code does not allow a vehicle to be parked on a city street for longer than 72 hours. The Traffic Code also prohibits junk motor vehicles from being left on City streets (see

Abandoned Vehicle Hotline) (SMC 11.72.440).  

Although some people may not use their vehicles on a regular basis (and therefore leave them parked on the street), the vehicles must still be moved every 72 hours and comply with all posted signs, including the ones announcing temporary parking restrictions that may go into effect after 24 hours. When a car is parked on a public street, drivers are encouraged to check their car at least once a day, even if their car is on a street where they are allowed to park up to the citywide 72-hour maximum.

To report any abandoned vehicle in the City go here  or call the Seattle Police Department Abandoned Vehicles Hotline at (206) 684-8763.  And for more information on the 72-hour On-Street Parking Ordinance, call (206) 684 ROAD (684-7623).

Here are comments received from residents:

Does anyone know the story behind this old truck that has been parked at the corner of NE41st Street and Surber since the summer? It doesn't  move for several weeks at a time and seems to collect a lot of junk while parked there. Occasionally it is removed for about a day, but always returns empty.  

We are concerned about this truck because it is parked at a very busy intersection limiting sight lines. Pedestrians and cyclists need to go out into the road there to get around it. A further problem is that the sidewalk heading east on the north side of NE 41st Street ends at that intersection  and people often need to cross NE41st Street there. There is a nice brick crosswalk there for that purpose, but this truck makes using that crosswalk particularly dangerous because you need to go out into the street  before you can see any traffic coming from the east.  

If anyone knows the owner, please tell him to park that truck in a more suitable location. We have reported this to SPD parking enforcement but received no response.  

Seems this problem has happened several times in the neighborhood and probably throughout the City. People leave their cars in random places that they only drive from time to time. People should report this to SPD as soon as a car doesn't move for 3 days, with license number and cross streets. SPD takes about 3 weeks to tag a car, but they eventually do and will end up ticketing then towing a car if it does not get moved. But if the vehicle does move, check streets nearby as the driver may have just moved it around the corner.