Council member: Gas station owners in Atlanta should prove safe place to pump

Keisha Lance Bottoms wants to change how some convenience store owners are operating. She said there is an attitude that you “pump at your own risk.”

That attitude, said the city council woman, is the result of too many robberies and carjackings since the spring of this year.

At City Hall on Monday night, Bottoms introduced legislation that would require some station owners to post and pay for a cop while they are open. The policy would cover any gas station that has had at least two serious incidents over the past twelve months.

Bottoms knows firsthand the problem. She was robbed while her attention was focused on selecting a grade of gasoline. And she said she’s heard stories from four friends about gas station crimes in just the last few weeks.

The full council would have to back her proposal. How could it be enforced? The city could hold up a business license renewal until the owner provides the security.