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Norman committee outlines phased plan to reduce abandoned shopping carts, emphasizes outreach
Summary
City staff and police described a multipronged approach including Walmart cart labeling, a proactive outreach team, an education campaign and limited enforcement beginning Aug. 1 to reduce abandoned shopping carts that burden city services and pose safety and health risks.
City of Norman staff and police told the City Council Business and Community Affairs Committee on June 5 that the city will begin a phased program to reduce abandoned shopping carts — combining retailer cooperation, outreach to people experiencing homelessness, an education effort and targeted enforcement.
The committee heard that Walmart has agreed to place identifying signs on carts that include the store address so staff and contractors can return carts more quickly, and that the city will run an education campaign for roughly six weeks before limited enforcement begins Aug. 1. Assistant City Manager Shannon Stevenson, who presented the plan, said the goal is to address "the 10 carts, the ones that are a problem that are near drainage areas," while prioritizing compassionate outreach for people who use carts to store their belongings.
Committee members were told the issue affects many city departments — police, parks, utilities and stormwater — and that carts abandoned near drainage and waterways create costly cleanups and public-health…
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