towing

Provo has long been infamous for its horrific parking situation. On far too many nights, BYU students living in Provo’s apartment complexes find themselves in an impossible quandary: arriving in their car back home at their complex, only to find that there are absolutely zero open parking spots, even on nearby streets. Students are on most days forced to either circle the area for potentially ridiculous periods of time waiting for a spot to open up, or risk parking in a restricted area (or worse, being towed and required to pay an additional nearly half a grand simply to get their car back). Besides blatantly overselling their parking passes, complexes profit off of this dilemma even further by charging exorbitant rates for guaranteed parking spots.

University towns are all too familiar with parking enforcement. Provo is no exception. With over 30 thousand students to manage, BYU has numerous policies in place in regards to housing and parking. Campus Police regulate parking on campus property, the BYU Parking office allows for an appeals process. The BYU off-campus housing office regulates what housing options are BYU approved, and provides a process to help students resolve various disputes associated with housing conditions and resulting situations. Parking at approved housing facilities, however, involves zero university oversight, mediation or appeals process through the university.

Four years ago, as a new mayor, I heard some consistent themes from students. I was constantly asked about our dining options downtown and told that the towing practices in Provo were out of control.

The heated topic of predatory booting and towing in Provo was brought before the city council on Tuesday after Mayor John Curtis requested a review of what he says 'has been bugging (him) for years.'

Predatory towing is when a towing company waits for someone to park illegally, even for one second, and slaps a boot on their car or tows them away before the driver even knows what is happening. Provo residents and students at BYU are all too familiar with this type of practice.