Pittsburgh officials have launched a citywide sweep of abandoned vehicles as part of ongoing beautification efforts ahead of next month’s NFL Draft.

On Monday, the mayor’s office, working with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, announced a two-week push to remove abandoned vehicles from neighborhoods across the city.

“I think getting rid of as many cars as possible off our streets is only going to help the neighborhoods,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor during a news conference.

The vehicle blitz is a focused, short-term effort. Pittsburgh police, along with three designated salvors, will begin removing vehicles reported by neighbors through 311 or directly to the department.

Removal efforts will be made across all zones, O’Connor said.

“We want to get into a regular routine of towing abandoned vehicles … things that we see everyday in our neighborhoods that shouldn’t be there,” O’Connor said.

This isn’t the city’s first deployment of pre-draft cleanup efforts.

In early March, law enforcement departments began coordinating with Pittsburgh’s marine salvors to remove 21 sunken and abandoned boats in Allegheny County’s three rivers, within 5 to 10 nautical miles of Downtown.

During the blitz, officers will prioritize vehicles with registration or inspection expired by more than 90 days, as well as those deemed hazardous on city streets.

Most of the vehicles slated for towing have been abandoned for weeks or months — and in some cases, even years, according to city officials.

Under the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, vehicles are presumed to be abandoned under the following circumstances:

  • The vehicle is physically inoperable and left unattended on a highway or other public property for more than 48 hours.
  • The vehicle has remained illegally on a highway or other public property for more than 48 hours.
  • The vehicle is left unattended on or along a highway or other public property for more than 48 hours and does not have any of the following: a valid registration plate, a certificate of inspection or an ascertainable VIN.
  • The vehicle has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than 24 hours.

Molly Onufer, spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, said the city will not have data on the number of towed cars until after the two weeks is over, in case people move their cars.

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials did not respond to an immediate request for comment on Wednesday.

To retrieve a vehicle, each police zone will have a list of vehicles that have been towed.

Visit pittsburghpa.gov/Safety/Police/Police-Zones or call 412-432-4774 for more information.