Upper King prostitution a problem, residents say, but situation improving

Some call them ladies of the evening, but they can often be found strolling the upper stretches of King Street well past dawn.

And, they're not all ladies.

As children trudged to three nearby schools one morning last week, a woman who admitted to working the streets chatted with a Charleston County schools crossing guard. A city councilman who lives nearby said he's had to chase male and female prostitutes off his porch.

"They used to be right in front of my door," said City Councilman Robert Mitchell, who lives on King Street near Huger Street. "You see cars picking them up at night. Nice cars — you'd be surprised."

The odd mix of streetwalkers and school children has become part of the morning landscape on Upper King. As obvious as the prostitution is now, residents, civic leaders and school officials said things have gotten better.

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.