A majority of Selma City Council members have taken a firm stand to make the city more attractive to those who live here and to those who visit.

A key piece of policy approved by the council rests in getting cars parked in yards back in the driveways or on side streets where they belong.

Cars on blocks or cars with expired tags on flat tires sitting in the front yards of homes throughout the city gives the appearance that nobody cares. They are unpleasant to look at in passing or if you live in the neighborhood.

Certainly times arise when someone must park to the side of a driveway or carport. Those times are exceptions and not the rule.

The rule is “keep it neat.”

At least one council member, Bennie Ruth Crenshaw, is opposed to this policy. She said some people are bent over in despair about the economic situation or under some other troubles and could care less about where the car is parked.

In effect, Crenshaw made the policy sound like a bit of picky minutia concocted by elitists who have nothing better to do.

Crenshaw is wrong.

Cleaning up the city with policies such as these is the right step toward reclaiming Selma.