For the past several years the trek to recover your car, whether stolen or impounded, from the City tow lot has been a frightening experience. Adding insult to injury, you must pay $75 to retrieve your car if it was stolen. This is a better deal than if you somehow manage to have your car impounded, the fee then goes up to $145 plus $20 per day.

Once you leave the main office on Stadium Drive and navigate the gauntlet half a mile down Bennington through a semi-paved road, past ramshackle housing and mounds of illegal dumping, you must guess which way to turn at the end of the road – the only signs to the lot are spray-painted graffiti like scrawls on the sides of the buildings. Exclusive Video Here from TKC.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel though; citizens will be relieved to know that the City Tow lot is moving in December according to Les Washington, Director of Neighborhood and Community Services.

The current Kansas City Tow lot at 6817 Stadium drive will be moving to I-435 and Front Street, on property currently owned by the City Water Department.

“That’s not a city owned lot (the current location), we are leasing space -- that’s part of the reason we are getting out of there, they are raising the rates.” said Washington.

In recent weeks the city has been holding several auctions to clear some of the inventory before the big move. The next unclaimed vehicle auction will be Monday, Nov. 10. More information can be found Here

“We are trying to get rid of as much inventory as we can before the move so we can save the expense of moving those vehicles.” said Washington.

Most city Police Departments maintain and control the tow lot operations, but since Kansas City Missouri Police is under state control, the task has fallen to Public Works and now Neighborhood Services in Kansas City.

“That’s unusual, there is not a lot like that, that goes all the way back to the Pendergast era.” explained Washington.

“We did recently turn over street enforcement to the police department, so now we just maintain the tow lot.” added Washington.

Let’s hope the new tow lot is better maintained than the last one.