Riverdale’s street parking ban starts at 11 p.m. and lasts until 6 a.m. (Section 10.60.070). The only cars it spares are those showing a village vehicle license, or a temporary overnight permit bought from the village clerk. If the sticker on a dead car has lapsed, that car has nowhere to be at night but a driveway or a lot. Junk My Car Inc can take it off your hands, and we buy junk cars in Riverdale whether they run or not.
The 11 p.m. rule and the village license
Section 10.20.020 requires an annual village license for residents’ vehicles, and new residents get 30 days to buy one. The license is due before July 1, with prorated fees for cars bought later in the year. Few people want to renew a sticker for a car that hasn’t started since winter, but in Riverdale the sticker is also the overnight parking pass.
Seven days on a lot, 72 hours at the curb
Riverdale has rules for both public and private ground. On a street or other public property, a vehicle left unmoved for 72 hours, or one that would break the law if driven, is presumed abandoned or junked (Section 10.76.020). On private property, a wrecked or disabled car in public view, or one left unmoved for 7 straight days, is unlawful under Section 10.76.030, and the police chief or health officer can order it removed within 10 days of notice.
The property code goes further. Section 15.110.030 makes any inoperable or unregistered vehicle, or its parts, a public nuisance when it’s kept outdoors or under an open-sided roof on any lot. A carport doesn’t count as shelter.
Snow streets, floodwater and the Halsted bridges
When more than 2 inches falls, parking stops on the designated snow streets from the start of the snowfall until 8 hours after it ends. The list includes Indiana Avenue from 135th to 146th Street, School Street from 138th to 143rd, 134th Street between Perry and Halsted, and 137th Street. The county’s hazard plan notes flooding north of 138th Street and east of School Street, sewage backups on the northeast side and the 2008 floods from Hurricane Ike, and it calls the Halsted Street bridges hard to keep clear of snow and ice. If water got into your car, our tips on selling a storm-damaged car apply here.
Halsted, Indiana Avenue and the Metra Electric
Halsted Street is Route 1, and it crosses the Little Calumet River twice, running through Riverdale and Dolton between the two crossings. I-57 clips the village, with Ashland and Indiana Avenues as the other main streets. The Metra Electric stops at Riverdale station on 137th Street and Ivanhoe station on 144th Street. Roughly 52 percent of homes are detached houses and about 38 percent are in buildings with two or more units, so plenty of pickups are from apartment lots; check with the manager before we arrive.
Request an offer online, and you’ll hear back within 15 minutes. Payment happens at pickup, in cash or through Zelle, Cash App or a similar app. No title in hand? Tell us which documents you do have. Illinois law, not us, determines whether a registration, bill of sale or insurance card can stand in for a scrap sale, and we’ll give you the answer before the truck is booked.
As junk car buyers in Riverdale and the towns around it, we also work east in Dolton, southwest in Dixmoor, across the south line in Harvey and west in Blue Island. Everything else we cover is on the service areas page.