County will place ‘no parking signs’ in effort to curb vehicle exportation problem in Tornillo

In a unanimous vote, County commissioners approved the placement of no parking, standing or stopping signs along roads near the Tornillo Port of Entry.

Commissioners said this will help alleviate the massive amount of used cars parked along the roadways. It will cost county taxpayers $35,000 to put up the no parking signs along roads near the port of entry.

Another possible solution would be for the county to build a parking lot on its property near the port of entry to hold the vehicles there.

“in order to do that, we would have to the expense of using county land, paving county land, striping it, fencing it in, lighting it, hiring people to manage it 24-7, and then have (to deal with) the unpredictability of how many cars,” County Judge Veronica Escobar said.

Commissioner Carlos Leon said immediate action was needed. “It’s dark out there, it could be a hazard and drivers are urinating, defecating on the properties because they have to stay overnight,” Leon said.

Although Commissioner Andrew Haggerty voted to approve the parking signs, he says this is not an “end all solution” in regards with the used cars. “They are not going to magically vanish,” Haggerty said.

Drivers who park vehicles along that designated area will be issued a citation by sheriff’s deputies. A vehicle left unattended 48 hours will be towed.

The Mexican government recently adopted new regulations restricting the number of used cars that can be exported from the Unites States into Mexico.

As a result, ABC-7 has learned, there is a long line of used cars ready for exportation on the American side of the Tornillo Port of Entry.

Residents say the parked cars are affecting Pecan farm businesses and drivers are loitering at their properties. Some even say they’ve seen drivers brawl for a place in line.

“This is terribly unfortunate situation that’s unacceptable,” Precinct 3 County Commissioner Vince Perez said of the more than 3,000 junked and used cars that are parked along roads near the Tornillo port of entry.

The bridge was recently selected by Mexican officials as the port in the El Paso region that accepts the importation of vehicles.

To make the situation worse, a policy change by the Mexican government is only allowing 85 cars through a day.

A few weeks back, businessmen protested the move and blocked the Bridge of the Americas port of entry.

“The suspicion is the Mexican government has been influenced by the new car dealers in order to create an obstruction at the ports of entry to make it more difficult for the used cars to get through into Mexico,” Escobar said.