The Jeddah Municipality and traffic police are waging a campaign to clear the city’s streets of abandoned cars and shut down unlicensed automotive repair garages that are creating health risks to nearby residents.

The separate operations focus on traffic police targeting neighborhoods with the highest concentration of abandoned cars, while the municipality targets pollution-causing repair shops, according to municipal officials.

Col. Saad Harity, chairman of the committee appointed by Jeddah Gov. Prince Meshal bin Majed, told Arab News that despite awareness campaigns and warnings of abandoned cars, the problem remains rampant throughout the city.

He said that wrecked cars are dumped by owners, causing aesthetic problems for the city. He urged vehicle owners to remove their abandoned vehicles from streets.

Police officials also said that auto workshops in North Jeddah area is a prime location where highest number of abandoned vehicles were discovered.

Harity said that teams comprising officials from police CID, traffic police and Jeddah Municipality are combing streets to identify vehicles and post warnings on the windshield. Each vehicle owner will be given 15 days to remove the vehicle. Police also investigate whether the vehicle has been involved in any crime or accident. Police may remove such vehicles and send them to scrapyards in Bariman. Owners are responsible for towing costs, Harity said.

Through February, 2,269 abandoned vehicles were removed, Harity said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have received complaints about maintenance garages mushrooming in residential neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Officials said the shops are creating security problems to residents and laborers in the area.

Nasser Al-Gathmi, a resident, said the workshops cause asthma and allergies in children and the elderly. He said the law bans the setting up of garages in residential areas.

Mohammad Al-Jahni, a health inspector, said the workshops emit noxious fumes and create noise. The biggest threat comes from workers and car owners who harass women and young girls.

Marwan Al-Owedi, professor of urban planning at King Abdulaziz University, said garages should be immediately removed from residential areas. The presence of workers next to residential buildings gives the inhabitants no rest, stability or serenity, and residents would worry about their children’s safety, he said.

Head of Public Relations for Jeddah Col. Zaik Al-Hamzi said workshop owners violate of traffic laws when they use the streets to park damaged cars.

“First, we warn violators,” Al-Hamzi said. “If they don’t respond, we will punish the workshop owner who keeps such cars.”

An official from the Jeddah Municipality said unscheduled visits have been paid to certain workshops. Some shops were closed for not meeting the municipal safety and environmental requirements. More than 400 cars have been removed from these workshops after warnings.