Abandoned vehicles on Edmonton streets drop 73% since impound lot reopened

The number of abandoned vehicles on Edmonton streets has plummeted 73 percent since the city reopened an overflow impound lot earlier this month.

The backlog peaked at 682 vehicles on June 17, prompting complaints from residents frustrated by the sight of stranded cars. By Tuesday, that figure had fallen to 181 after the city created about 150 temporary spots in the police impound lot.

The temporary lot is a former ETS Park and Ride site at 122 Street and 124 Avenue, right next to the main impound facility. It had been used as a construction laydown area for Yellowhead Trail work beginning in 2024, but police were able to repurpose some of that space as overflow storage since 2018.

Cindy Kieu, executive director of Edmonton Police Service's business operations division, said Wednesday: "We believe that we don't have an issue with addressing all of the abandoned vehicles in our city."

Alan Le, superintendent for parking enforcement with the city, said the plan is to hit the issue hard over the summer and hopefully bring the number to zero. A vehicle is considered abandoned if it is parked and unmoved on a city street or public property for more than 72 consecutive hours, after which it can be ticketed and towed.

EPS has been trying to solve capacity issues since 2009, when the impound lot began operating. The facility's current location has remained mostly unchanged since 1997, still holding the same number of permanent parking spots. Kieu acknowledged that finding space and moving the lot would incur "significant costs," which is why the commission rejected a relocation proposal.