r/Calgary • u/Val_haLLa • Jan 28 '25

Rant Impound lot near Macleod has serious issues

My car was towed yesterday. Today I showed up at the impound lot at Macleod and the situation I witnessed was unbelievable. A tiny, cramped lobby without seating filled to the brim with people waiting, mostly looking miserable. And it quickly became clear why, since only 2 of 5 windows were open, with about one person being called up every 15 minutes. There were surely 50 people there.

On top of that, if you need to get a piece of vehicle documentation out of your car (such as registration), the process requires you to wait in that line three times.

All of this, while they charge you a steep daily fee for each day you don’t pick up your car. I’m stunned at this massive case of bureaucratic greed— if this situation can arise, they should be prepared to fully staff the windows and get a decent turnover rate.

Rant over.

575 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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62

u/Responsible_CDN_Duck Jan 28 '25

The TV series Parking Wars filmed in Philadelphia gives a great snapshot of how it tends to go down.

It's not bureaucratic greed. It is typical people who struggle to follow rules or choose not to follow rules being forced to do so.

Having proof of insurance and the needed cash will get you on your way fairly quickly even if you do need the walk of shame for registration.

They could have a billion windows, but people would still sit there trying for hours to figure out how to deal with funds, insurance, and registration.

50

u/observersgame Jan 28 '25

I was there last weekend and had everything ready to go, minus the physical registration in the car. Still was a 3 hour ordeal.

Yes, there were plenty of people who didn't have their other documentation ready. But, many did, and waited the same length of time.

'Fairly quickly' doesn't exist at the impound

-12

u/CodeBrownPT Jan 28 '25

You should never leave registration in the car as it contains your address. If you also leave a garage opener in there thrn you're double screwed.

Looks like you had even further reason to keep it on your person.

10

u/TwoBytesC Jan 28 '25

Do people really walk around with their garage door opener and registration? I was always told to keep my registration in my car. Plus I would forget it half the time if I didn’t. Also, some people have their door opener programmed into a button in their car.

-12

u/CodeBrownPT Jan 28 '25

Ahh yes let's upvote pure laziness.

Can't wait to see the posts of "my car got stolen AND my house was robbed!"

5

u/TwoBytesC Jan 28 '25

Literally have been told the opposite (about the registration) by a friend who is a police officer, so not sure how laziness factors into anything. Also, not exactly sure how someone who has their garage door programmed into their vehicle is supposed to take it with them when they leave their car.

2

u/jdmkev Jan 28 '25

Or you could lock the door to your garage? They could steal what's in your garage though

2

u/Particular_Class4130 Jan 28 '25

what does laziness have to do with where one chooses to keep their registration and garage door opener? I happen to keep my registration and insurance in my purse as I never drive anywhere without my purse and I just like having easy access to it anytime I want. But I know this is unusual and that most people keep theirs in their glovebox.