Seattle clears RVs and tents in the SODO neighborhood ahead of MLB All-Star Week
Seattle said the cleanup is not related to All-Star Week, but is instead part of the city’s ongoing work in the vicinity.
SEATTLE – On the eve of MLB All-Star Week, some SODO business owners near the ballpark are getting what they asked for the city – an RV camp cleared.
The city says the cleanup is not just for the sake of the game, but instead as part of an ongoing work in the neighborhood. According to the city, there has been a consistent focus on SODO over the past year and a half due to the high concentration of RVs and tents.
Spokesperson Lori Baxter said: “We have not changed our process or approach prior to the All-Star game.
An announcement was made about a scheduled cleanup at the campground located near 3rd Avenue and Holgate.
“There are RVs and they are using our parking lot as the front door,” said Marc McCann, owner of Butler Parking Corporation.
McCann calls the cleanup in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood a welcome sight.
“It was a real mess,” McCann said. “They all moved in at 1:30 a.m. about a month ago.”
Back in June, Mike Coombs, co-owner of Outdoor Emporium said: “They have to help the broken mobile homes in the area and there needs to be something happening there.”
After cleaning up today, he said, “I feel good that the city is doing what they say they will. I just want to make sure this isn’t just for the All-Star game. This needs to be an ongoing effort 365 days a year, every month.”
According to the city, in the SODO neighborhood, there were 15 camping resolutions last year and 5 resolutions in the first quarter of this year. In 2022, there were 83 shelter referrals, and in the first three months of this year, there were 82.
At the cleanup site today, one person wore a message that read, “Stop the war on the homeless — housing and services, not cleaning.”
“I don’t agree that there’s a war against the homeless,” McCann said, adding that it’s a matter of public safety. “These cars, they’ve been parked here for weeks.”
“When drug use and other things that are illegal are going on, it’s not good for the community,” Coombs said.
In SODO, the street was transformed in a short amount of time, and McCann says he wants it to last.
“It looks beautiful, and I hope it stays that way, but I can’t hold my breath,” he said.
The city said there were 24 outreach people leading up to the cleanup today, and seven of them accepted shelter referrals.
