Tony gets yelled at by his neighbours a lot. He also gets honked at.
When he pulls up to the gates of the underground parking at his Metrotown condo building, he activates the FOB, drives through and then stops.
Why does he stop? Well, he stops if there is a vehicle behind him to allow the gates to close.
“That’s what the sign on the gate says,” says Tony. “You’re not supposed to let another vehicle in. That driver needs to open the gate themselves. People hate that I do it. They yell at me and honk. But it’s a security feature so you don’t let someone in who doesn’t live there.”
Tony says it’s the least he can do to protect his vehicle and the others in the garage.
Sadly, not everyone does this. Some neighbours, Tony says, have let thieves in by accident. Those thieves have then parked in the underground visitors’ area and then walked through the second gate to access residents’ vehicle – breaking in and stealing all sorts of items.
“I made the mistake of leaving my golf clubs in the trunk once because I thought the garage was secure,” Tony says. “They got taken as about 20 vehicles were hit one night.”
But these lapses aren’t always accidental, says Tony. He believes that one resident of the building has been “paid off” to let a thief into the building’s bike storage area, where dozens of bicycles were packed into a truck and then allowed through the security gate back in 2020.
“So many bikes when missing, but the lock wasn’t broken. Someone obviously let them in. It hurts when it’s an inside job by people you smile at when you pass them in the hallways.”
It’s not surprising to hear about crime in Metrotown.
Monthly crime numbers consistently show that Metrotown is where criminals feast. But that’s usually on the street, with thefts inside vehicles or business break-ins.
You don’t expect that your own neighbours will screw you over.
On this subject, there’s new data showing what vehicles are the most stolen in our community.
The dubious winner is the 2020 Honda CR-V 4DR AWD, according to data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In 2019, it was the 2007 Ford F350 SD 4WD that was the most-stolen in the nation.
Second on the list is the 2017 Lexus RX350.
The revelation was made in a new study that says British Columbia had the third-highest number of auto thefts.
The study, conducted by Hellosafe.ca determined that 87,006 cars were stolen in Canada in 2019. This figure increased by 1.01% in one year, with 874 more car thefts reported than in 2018.
Ontario, with almost 24,000 car thefts in 2019, ranks first among Canadian provinces in this regard, followed closely by Alberta (23,535). With 13,352 auto thefts, B.C. came third followed by Quebec (11,961).
In British Columbia and Alberta, the 2006 Ford F350 SD 4WD was the most stolen vehicle of 2020.
- With files from Elana Shepert, Vancouver is Awesome
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44
