Tire terror!

Today's blog post was going to feature an interesting vehicle, but the whole thing got sidelined by some asshole who dumped a bunch of used tires in the alley by my driveway, then tossed a couple more on my neighbor across the alley's driveway as well.  Since tires are automotive, we're going to slide this little adventure in as its own post.

Chances are this is the work of some unlicensed, fly by night auto repair business being run by some unsavory "mechanic" whose work is likely less than acceptable, and who probably has a long line of displeased "customers" who can attest to the shitty work he or she does on vehicles... Of course, it could also be the work of a legitimate tire or auto repair business who just doesn't want to pay to have their waste hauled away.  Either way, I wish a pox on the individual who dumped these tires.  This just follows in the not-so-grand tradition that seems to be prevalent here in Northside of foisting ones burden off on somebody else to deal with rather than taking responsibility for one's self.  It's a tired, and shitty tradition whose welcome was worn out a long time ago.

My neighborhood has enough issues without having to deal with crap like this on top of it all.  Just a few days ago, there was a triple shooting just blocks from my house where a 17 year old kid, a pregnant lady, and a toddler were shot (all expected to survive, BTW).  The suspect ran and despite the fact that a search helicopter and K9 cop was brought in to try to track him, he wasn't found.  Compared to the type of garbage that goes around shooting toddlers, used tires don't seem so bad, but having to contend with both or really even either makes me bristle.

What to do if you find your property has been used as a dumping ground for tires in Minneapolis?  Well, you can't just leave them out by the trash because regular garbage pick up wont haul them away.  Here's how you handle it.  Call Minneapolis 311.  They'll put you in touch with the transfer station who can give you a free voucher to bring the waste there yourself and have them dispose of it (proper like, you know, not just dumping it in somebody's driveway -though I promise you, if I knew who dumped these tires, I'd track down their address and pile them high on that person's front stoop).

You'll have to load up the tires yourself.  I know from experience that my Mustang can only haul 4 tires total from when I have my snow tires swapped in for my summer tires, so I borrowed a sedan to fit all 6.  I gathered the ones that had been foisted on my neighbor across the alley because they're nice people who have an adorable little 2-3 year old girl,  and are probably worried enough about their neighborhood in the wake of the toddler shooting a couple days ago that they don't need to have to deal with this crap on top of it all.

Away to the transfer station you go.  It's down in 3rd precinct just off Hiawatha.

In through the weigh station we go.

Drive through this building and around the corner.

Behold, the dedicated tire dumpster.

Time to unload the tires.

Once that's done, we leave.  Adios, tires.

The drive home can be spent cursing and berating the inconsiderate jackass who dumped the tires and made you have to spend about an hour of your day dealing with their mess.