A Houston woman is calling on city council to adopt a grace period to allow people who abandoned their cars due to high water, to retrieve those cars before they are towed to city lots.
Kelly Moynihan told city council Tuesday that she abandoned her car on a median during last week's flooding, but when she returned it was already towed to a city lot which only accepted a cash payment of $230.
"I'm also in support of the city mandating that all city tow lots or city storage lots accept credit card payments from persons unable to secure that kind of cash in an emergency situation," she said.
"I live paycheck-to-paycheck and rely on my credit cards for emergency expenses, as do many Houston residents.So, I also support a lessened fee to residents for tows out of high water situations in emergencies."
Councilman Michael Kubosh is among those open to the idea of a grace period.
"Let's see if we can help those who might otherwise be afraid to leave their car there and to drive it into the water or to stay in it too long and may drown.We have to do something to protect our citizens," said Kubosh.
Mayor Sylvester Turner was reluctant to grant a grace period, but said he was open to other possible changes.
"A lot of people don't walk around with cash, and if this is a situation that is happening overnight, companies should have to accept credit cards if that's what people have."