As we enter the dead of winter, more and more people are noticing abandoned vehicles parked on roadways throughout the city.
The City of Fort Saskatchewan is aware of these vehicles and follows provincial standards as well as a local bylaw to address them.
"Municipal Enforcement receives numerous calls a year for abandoned vehicles," said Maryjo Webster with Fort Saskatchewan Municipal Enforcement. "A vehicle is considered 'abandoned' under the Traffic Safety Act after 72 hours of not moving."
Fort Saskatchewan Traffic Bylaw C17-22 also lays out a specific procedure for handling reports of abandoned vehicles.
"Officers respond to these calls and will typically start with education first and do follow up after the 3 days," said Webster.
By education, Webster elaborated those officers will try to find the owner of the vehicle first to educate them on the appropriate bylaws before following up to see if the situation was resolved.
"If we can't find the owner of the vehicle or we have and they have chosen not to move it or can't move it, we will move to ticketing, and the vehicle will get towed."
People who are charged with abandoning a vehicle face a $324 fine. Towed vehicles are typically sent to Titan Towing in Fort Saskatchewan.