Seventy potentially abandoned vehicles were found in Grande Prairie in one week. That’s what Enforcement Services Supervisor Sergeant Ross Gear says. Every year around this time, officers hit the streets to make sure vehicles are moved and there is a clear path for snow plows.
“The reason we make this one of our initiatives is because we’re moving into that season now where transit has to be able to get into all our areas and do snow removal. It makes it very difficult if there are vehicles that haven’t been moved or can’t be moved.”
According to the province, an abandoned vehicle is any vehicle that has been left on the street for 72 hours or longer. Things officers look for when patrolling are expired or missing licence plates, cars covered in piles of snow and flat tires.
Once they find one, a notice is put on the car and it will need to be moved within 72 hours. Gear says officers will usually try to work with the owner to make sure the car is moved.
“Even though the vehicle has been there for a while, we’ll check with the registered owner cause sometimes there’s some sort of reason. We’ll give the registered owner a day or two to move the vehicle if they need to make repairs.”
Anyone who believes they’ve found an abandoned vehicle is asked to call Enforcement Services at 780-830-5790.
