Elizabeth Orosco
Northeast News

The Kansas City Police Department conducted a large-scale tow sweep Friday, November 16th, removing vehicles that appear to have been abandoned off public streets. The Department’s Traffic Unit, Impact Squad and East Patrol CIO’s were all involved in the operation.

The sweep covered an area north to south from Gladstone Boulevard to 31st Street, and east to west from Topping Avenue to Prospect.

Tuesday, November 13th, officers placed a yellow sticker on vehicles that appeared abandoned, giving owners 48 hours to move the vehicle from the street. This sticker also included a phone number to call for more information, as well as the city ordinance number 70-641, which states “no person shall abandon a motor vehicle or other personal property upon the streets or highways of this city.”

Many of those vehicles remained in the same spot Friday, and were quickly towed.

 

“There seems to be confusion on what ‘abandoned’ means,” said Rachel Hakes, Parking Control Officer of the Traffic Enforcement Unit. “If you are going to own a vehicle and keep it on a public street, we all need to know what those laws are.”

As of Tuesday, 258 cars had been given stickers. A full report of the result of the tow sweep will be published in the November 21st issue of the Northeast News