Atlanta initiates plan to dry up street side water sales

ATLANTA — While the idea of buying a bottle of water on a hot, summer day is not a bad thing, an increasing amount of teens selling those bottles to cars in traffic has become a major problem for the City of Atlanta.

It’s why the Atlanta Mayor’s Office, Atlanta Police Department and several local community activist groups announced Saturday they are teaming up to help curb sales that they believe put both the kids and drivers purchasing water from them in danger and at risk.

They’ve created an advisory council which has a very clearly stated goal: Develop strategies to help promote youth entrepreneurship within the city of Atlanta.

“We appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit of youth who are selling water to motorists, but we have seen an increase in unsafe and violent activity in some locations and cannot allow it to continue,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “It’s going to take a village and we are working with our partners to provide outreach and resources to these young people to help them gain access to job opportunities, workforce training, and educational programs.”

Atlanta police will increase their monitoring of groups gathering, often at intersections to sell the water to drivers, and say they will be more diligent about keeping the kids from dangerously running out on to the street.

The mayor’s office issued an executive order creating the council:

“Administrative Order 2020-21 directs the Chief Operating Officer to convene an Advisory Council comprised of public agencies, residents, businesses, non-profits, philanthropy, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions that will:

• Recommend strategies for the development of fueling the entrepreneurial spirit of young people throughout the city;
• Support the entrepreneurial goals of young water vendors in Atlanta.”

The advisory council has a July 31 deadline to report back to Bottoms with its recommendations.

Cox Media Group