BRISTOW, Okla. — Bristow leaders are cracking down on junky cars, rotting in residential yards.
“We know that the historic Route 66 anniversary is next year. We know that’s gonna bring traffic, we know that’s gonna bring people through town, and it was just a matter of really cleaning up our house,” Bristow Mayor Kris Wyatt said.
It’s easy to find run-down, abandoned cars sitting in yards across Bristow. In fact, when Bristow's code enforcement officer, Chad Foster, started his job, he drove up and down each and every street.
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“I knew there was a lot of improvement that needs to be done. There was about 192 or 96, issues that I needed to take care of right off the bat,” Foster said.
Foster showed 2 News one property with a few cars in the backyard. Ironically, one of them was a tow truck. Foster says it’s inoperable.
WATCH: 'Cleaning house' | Bristow leaders crack down on junk cars
If the resident doesn’t remove the cars, the city will begin fining them and eventually tow the vehicles away.
Just down the road, at Right On Automotive, Brian Rundus works on the bodies of high-end vehicles, though he’s seen the other side.
“There’s definitely cars in the lawn that, you know, need to be mowed around,” Rundus said, “You can always tell if they’ve got about two inches, to a foot of grass, around, they’re usually a lawn ornament by then.”
Foster and Mayor Wyatt say the city will show compassion, but is ready to act upon the worst cases. For those who can’t afford to fix up the car, leaders recommend selling it for scrap and city staff are happy to help facilitate the process. The alternative is losing the vehicle and paying the tow truck driver to get it back from the impound.
“It makes it hard, if you’re a neighbor to somebody like that, which I’ve been, and you’re like, man it just looks cantankerous,” Rundus said.
City staff say cases will start with a warning, escalate to fines, and, in the most severe cases, result in the seizure of the vehicles.
Bristow’s code enforcement office can be reached at 918-367-5942 Ext 5.
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