PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The next step in city's ongoing battle with the opioid epidemic is taking place this weekend, as the Philadelphia Police Department targets hundreds of abandoned cars from a portion of Kensington that is at the heart of the crisis.
Officers will join up with various tow companies as they look for unregistered, uninsured, or just flat out abandoned vehicles that litter parts of the Philadelphia Resilience Project area, which covers a very busy portion of Kensington.
"Lehigh Avenue to Allegheny, E Street to Frankford Avenue," says Lt. Joseph Waters.
Waters says these cars are more than just eyesores that rob residents and businesses of parking spots, sometimes they're used by drug dealers as stash spots or as a shelter by people using drugs. Kids may also be tempted to play in them, which presents a number of dangers, not to mention getting rid of them helps beautify the neighborhood.
Waters says patrols will work outside that Resilience Project zone this weekend, because more than 100 vehicles were already towed from that area last Saturday.
"That's why we're widening the area," he explained, "because I want to be able to remove not just vehicles that are in the grid, but also in the surrounding perimeter. So hopefully we're able to get at least another hundred."
Waters also encourages residents in that area to report any abandoned vehicles that they spot to 3-1-1, which will relay that information to the Resilience Project.
