Cedar Rapids police begin side street towing

Cedar Rapids Police made good on a vow Monday to start towing vehicles that had not moved since last week's massive snow storm.

Police had a list of vehicles that were still stuck in snow piles nearly a week after the storm.  City rules prohibit “street storage” so vehicles can only stay parked on  city streets for 48 hours at a time without moving.  The storm made it relatively easy to figure out which vehicles hadn't moved.

Jerry Heath, a driver for Darrah's Towing, said he expected one busy day after the police towing announcement last week.

“It'll be about 100% doing this all day-running back and forth.  As soon as I get one done they've got another one for me,” Heath said.

Cedar Rapids Police started the day with a list of about 30 vehicles scheduled for towing.  As of mid afternoon Monday, police had seized 15 vehicles.  Some marked vehicles had moved and other calls interfered.  But side street towing is scheduled for go on for several days in residential areas of Cedar Rapids.

Police said vehicles need to get off side streets so plows can finish clearing streets.

Drivers who get town face about $150 in both fines and fees.  That's in addition to $15 dollars a day for storage.