Tow trucks are back at work at the No Frills plaza on Brant.

News 100 blueBy Staff

August 12th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

They are at it again – cars being towed from the No Frills Plaza on Brant Street.

Tow truck - no markings

They lie in wait at the entrance to the parking lot.

They lie in wait – watching people drive in, do some shopping and then leave the parking lot on Brant to do other errands.

The moment the tow truck driver sees the person leave the parking lot they swoop in and put the hook on the vehicle and take it off to the pound. $300 will get it back.

A Burlington resident who lives in a unit that has a clear line of site to the parking lot wrote the Mayor.

Good day Ms Mayor,

I live above the No Frills parking lot on Brant Street. I sit on my deck and watch cars being towed every day out of the No Frills lot.
I do understand that there is signage but it’s not very visible. I watch families park and go to the Dollar store, then No Frills and then walk off the lot and they’re towed instantly.

My concern is that the signs are not big enough, not prominent enough.

I believe in this climate when people are broke and desperate enough to shop at the Dollar store that we shouldn’t apply parking penalties that are over 300 dollars.

The parking lot is empty these days, it’s not about space, it’s about greed and it really breaks my heart. Please help.
I saw 8 cars towed between 4:30pm and 730pm today Tuesday August 11th.

Tow signs in No Frills

The signs are clear – and they are not small.

The signs are very clear in the parking lot. And there is public parking yards away. And there is a lot of space in the parking lot.
The towing company that has the contract acts on instructions from the owners of the property.

Greed could well be the driving force.  Getting tired of people not bothering to read the No Parking Signs and taking advantage of the available space could have made the owners decide it is time to crack down.

Will a call from the Mayor do any good? Not really – the parking offenders have to be more careful and the property owners might think in terms of being a little charitable.

Times are tough for a lot of people – except for the tow truck drivers who take great delight in hooking up a truck. I’ve watched them.

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8 comments to Tow trucks are back at work at the No Frills plaza on Brant.

  • Steve W.

    It is entirely fair for the plaza owners to enforce their parking rules. I work at the plaza and with No Frills and Tim Horton’s this is a busy parking lot. The problem is, is that people seem to think you can park there, do some shopping at one of the plaza stores, and then walk down Brant St to go to another shop or eat at Joe Dogs. Joe Dogs or Rays are not in the plaza. The parking is for plaza patrons only. It is signed to say that. If you have to go to other stores in the downtown – park in the municipal parking lot. It’s that simple and seldom checked by parking enforcement.

  • Perryb

    Until very recently, the signs said “no overnight parking”. Quite a difference from “step off the property and we’ll confiscate your car”. Especially when it’s not clear that some spots belong to the bank and others presumably belong to Tim Hortons. This is clearly a cash grab, in cahoots with the towing company who should be ashamed of themselves.
    PS … who actually owns this property – some numbered company?

  • Eve St Clair

    It’s private property !!!!!!! Don’t like the rules then don’t park here

  • WarningU2

    I work at the plaza. Too many people treat it as a parking lot to do shopping in the downtown rather than just the shops in the plaza. The owners have every right to enforce limiting parking to the shopping plaza shops only. The signs could be bigger but really people don’t read. So many people come into our store obvious to several signs saying mask required. What may not be known is that customers frequenting Rays, Firestone and Joe Dogs do not have have plaza parking privileges. Even Scotia Bank is limited to the south and west parking spaces only. Just park in the municipal parking lot at the south end. All your problems are solved. Burlington seldom enforces parking there.

  • Judy christie

    $300.00 is mean and greedy especially at this time with a pandemic going on!!
    It is so so mean–signs or no signs, $300.00 is an awful lot of money for anybody.
    where is our Canadian spirit of caring during this time, and really, any time.

    • Hans Jacobs

      Agreed. The fine should be no greater than what it costs to stay past the time paid for at a City parking meter.

  • Rob Allan

    PASSIFIUME: Calls for towing reform loudest from within the industry.

    A study released last month by CAA South Central Ontario said 90% of drivers want provincial oversight. Martino agreed that standardized, consistent province-wide certification would certainly help. “Something that you could display, like what you often see in taxicabs,” he said.

    “Build a plan, come to some rulings, and make standardized procedures for breakdowns, accidents or whatever it may be.” But despite the best efforts of task forces or movement from within the industry, what’s needed most is enforcement, Martino said.

    “You can make all the laws in the world, but if they’re not enforced, things won’t change.”