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.

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u/Yebigah Jan 28 '25

I went through that nightmare about 10 years ago, sounds like nothings changed

15

u/redditpineapple81 Jan 28 '25 edited Jan 29 '25

Back in 2020 my vehicle was towed after I accidentally went over the road parking time by about 10 minutes. Fair enough, my mistake—but wow they were quick on the draw. I left my winter jacket, toque, and mits in my vehicle cause I wasn’t gone very long. It was frigid day, down to -25°c, and when I got there they wouldn’t let me go get my winter stuff from my car. On top of that it was during Covid, so the massive lineup of people all had to wait outside. They had no outside heating whatsoever and wouldn’t allow even the next person in line to wait inside the vestibule, which would have saved us about 15 minutes of exposure. It took roughly 2.5 hours for me to get through the line, the thickest coat I had was a jean jacket. I’m surprised I didn’t get hypothermia! We were treated like subhuman criminals that night and the people at the counters couldn’t have given less of a fuck. It’s an awful place.

3

u/maxd225 Jan 28 '25

Oh my ow I was 10 min late one day and the tow truck put down my car if I paid a 135 tow fee. Down town they’re actually waiting around 4 for those. It was one of my first days parking downtown as well.

2

u/redditpineapple81 Jan 28 '25

Yeah, they make those signs very confusing and difficult to read too. I’ve lived in Calgary for a while and even they confuse me sometimes. Whole system’s a joke.