El Paso Police said they've been paying more visits to Towne Centre shopping center and the surrounding area during the overnight hours. They said in the last month, nearby residents have been complaining about the bar patrons who don't find parking and end up parking alongside their street.

As many were waiting to enter the bars on the strip Thursday night, six police units drove up. Officers were conducting random bar checks.

"At first it was like, woo, what's going on?" said Gilbert Chavez, who was surprised to see so many officers.

Police said they found no violations, but they keep coming back to check on illegal parking in the neighborhood behind the shopping center.

"The complaints have been illegal parking and people leaving trash. We've only been able to respond to the illegal parking. Occasionally we assign a unit to handle that, and issue citations that are appropriate," said Sgt. Fransisco Nunez with the El Paso Police department.

According to Nunez, officers were issuing about 15 citations on busy nights. Residents said it's still a problem, and Friday, City Representative Steve Ortega will hold a community meeting to address the problem.

The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. at the Luby's Cafeteria on Lee Trevino Dr. and Vista Del Sol Dr.