Residents of the M.D. of Foothills have seen abandoned vehicles or other miscellaneous items left at approaches into their fields, or just dumped on their land at ease, with the people who left the mess hoping they'll just clean it up at their expense.

But the land owner isn't on the hook for disposing abandoned vehicles.

Protective Services Coordinator for the M.D. of Foothills Darlene Roblin says if someone has left a vehicle or a trailer with or without license plates, you should contact the M.D. by-law office so they can identify it for their records first.

"We do run into instances where things are stolen," she says. "We've run into it many times, stolen vehicles that are dumped in different places in the M.D. of Foothills. We would certainly come out and take a look at what has been left, particularly if it's a trailer or vehicle, that sort of thing."

Roblin says if there is no registration or way to determine who owns the item placed on someone's land, the M.D. will take care of it.

"If the registered owner is not determined, there is a program that is mandated by the provincial government that allows tow operators, after a vehicle or trailer has been seized or a number of days, that they would be able to dispose of it at auction and recover some of their costs."

She says if an abandoned vehicle or trailer is at risk for traffic safety in the M.D., let authorities know right away so they can speed the process up.

"The definition of something being an abandoned vehicle is that it's at a location for 72 hours," she says. "However, if it is an item that has been deposited on an approach or the side of a road, and it can be deemed a traffic hazard or there's other parameters that we can look at. You don't necessarily have to wait that 72 hours."

If you have someone else's abandoned vehicle or scrap metal on your property, you can call Foothills Patrol at 403-603-6300

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