ST. LOUIS — Thursday was the first round of a major effort to get abandoned and derelict cars off St. Louis streets.
The tow blitz focused on Ward 14 in north St. Louis, where abandoned cars are a major problem.
Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said the blitz was very successful.
City crews were able to tag some cars last week and towed eight of those on thursday, at the same time they also tagged 20 more cars for the second round.
Longtime Ward 14 resident Robin Lovings Brown said the car dumping is a catalyst for crime.
“It poses a safety risk. We've had kids try to play in them. We've had homeless try to sleep in them, which is not a great idea. We've seen drug transactions transpire,” Lovings Brown said.
And sometimes those stolen vehicles are stolen from again.
“It becomes a chop shop on the streets where tires become missing, parts become missing and then that's a whole nother issue as well,” Lovings Brown said.
She actually reported a silver hatchback to Aldridge ahead of the tow blitz.
Aldridge said abandoned cars also lead to more dumping of things like tires and trash.
“It's continuous progress that people can see. They'll be able to go home and see, okay, like the city was out, there's a warning sticker on it. And then in a few days, right before the holiday, hopefully they'll see that those cars are gone,” Aldridge said.
Lovings Brown said it was a big relief for her and her neighbors. She hopes this will help with rebuilding.
“We're huge on creating more development in the 14th ward. So it's also an eyesore to new developers or potential neighbors when they see the derelict vehicles parked outside of properties,” Lovings Brown said.
Aldridge said it’s hopefully something they can replicate city-wide.
“We're trying to change the reputation of what our community should look like and what they don't have to look like.
Aldridge says the ones that were tagged Thursday will hopefully be moved or towed before Thanksgiving.