Readers React: A towed car can mean life on the street for some homeless people

To the editor: The L.A. Times editorial against the proposed law repealing the right of cities to tow cars that have been parked in the same place for more than 72 hours does not give enough attention to the many people who have been forced to live in their vehicles because of the skyrocketing rents in Los Angeles.

In the past year, my agency has found housing for two families who had been living in their cars. Imagine the plight of a 9-year-old child returning from school to do homework in the backseat of the family car.

Without the proposed change in the law, that child could be forced to do homework on the disease-plagued sidewalks of Los Angeles, confronting more than just the humiliation of becoming a street-dweller.

Compassion should be taken into account when making any decision, especially by those who have the power to influence the lives of others.

Marsha Temple, Los Angeles

The writer is executive director of the nonprofit Integrated Recovery Network.

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To the editor: Thanks for opposing the proposed changes to the state’s vehicle impound laws. The ability to regulate vehicle parking on city streets is vital for local communities.

Especially significant is the problem of long-term parking — “storage,” in other words — of what are essentially abandoned vehicles. These poorly maintained cars are unsightly and a nuisance.

Laws are intended to protect all citizens from those who violate them. Those owners who choose to leave their vehicles parked indefinitely should be held financially accountable when their vehicles are towed and stored, regardless of their economic status.

Gene Huber, West Covina

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To the editor: We have too many cars on the street now. If you have no place to park your car, cannot pay your tickets or otherwise cannot be responsible for your vehicle, you should not be driving.

There are other modes of transportation available; use them

Earl Adams, Granada Hills

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