Moving quietly and quickly through the narrow alleys and streets of SOHO, you can almost hear the pulse of the soundtrack to Jaws.

Tow trucks work fast to snatch a car or maybe event two before the owner realizes what happens. At about $200 per snatch the money can really add up quick.

While most of the tow truck companies have main lots located well across town, the time it would take to tow your car there, drop it, and come back for more is just too long to allow the companies to pack their pockets with enough of your cash to make it worthwhile. Most of the companies use a short term storage area just off Kennedy to drop your car and quickly return for more, then re-locate your car much later in the evening or early the next day to their main lot. They move as quickly as possible so as to not have to come in contact with the car's owner and of course, to quickly snatch more cars adding to their revenue for the evening.

SOHOTAMPA.COM CALLS FOR FORUM ON PARKING PROBLEMS

On Friday night over 30 vehicles were towed. The tow trucks move around like circling sharks looking for any opportunity to make a buck. With an average cost of $200 to retrieve your missing vehicle, this problem is going to become more severe with the proposal to eliminate parking on one side of Westland and on one side of parts of Azeele and Horatio. On Tuesday, Sept. 12, SOHOTAMPA.COM delivered a letter to Mayor Iorio calling for an open forum neighborhood meeting to discuss the SOHO parking problems. If a date can be set, we hope you will take the opportunity to attend and express your thoughts. As more construction and development takes place, this problem is destined to continue to worsen. Watch for our updates on this important issue.