The signs behind the Fireproof Apartments complex in the Short North are clear: Park without a permit, and your car might not be waiting for you when you get back.

That doesn’t stop people from taking a chance though, stopping in the lot to pop into Chipotle or another business around the corner, only to return to an empty space where their vehicle once sat.

“They don’t learn their lesson. It ends up being a very expensive burrito,” said Megan Brown, the leasing manager at the complex, at 1020 N. High St., one of the most-heavily towed lots in Columbus.

In private parking lots and on streets across the city, thousands of cars are hooked up to tow trucks and hauled away to impound lots each year, racking up millions of dollars in fines and fees for drivers.

Towing companies hauled vehicles in Columbus to impound lots nearly 173,000 times — about 158 times a day — between 2016 and 2018.

Nowhere in the city is that more evident than in the University District and Short North. Drivers were more likely to be towed in those neighborhoods than anywhere else in Columbus, according to an analysis by The Dispatch of towing data kept by Columbus police.

Thirty of the 50 places that cars were most likely to be towed from 2016 to 2018 were in the area bounded by East Hudson Street, Interstate 71 and I-670, and Route 315, according to the analysis. Many of those are in private lots just off the North High Street spine.

Property managers and towing companies say people are taking the chance that the “Violators Will Be Towed” signs on private parking lots won’t be enforced, and they are inconveniencing people who pay for those spaces.

Others, though, question aggressive towing policies that can cost hundreds of dollars for drivers making a quick stop and that have earned negative reputations for some of the city’s most-prolific towing companies.

“Nobody wants to admit that they’ve made a mistake. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. They want to place the blame on somebody else,” said Tim Duffey, president of Shamrock Towing. “I did not park the car there. I did not create the situation that they’re in.”

Towing companies operate under two umbrellas in Columbus: either as a contractor for a private company, or under a contract with the city to move cars that violate Columbus parking rules.

State law requires towing companies to notify the city every time they tow a vehicle, so police can tell drivers where to find their vehicle if they call to report it missing. Police enter every tow into a database.

About 98,000 of the tows from 2016 through 2018 were from private property or as repossessions. Another 75,000 tows were executed under the city’s contract.

State law mandates that towing companies cannot charge more than $129 per tow along with a $25 administrative fee and a storage fee of $17 a day. That means a standard tow shouldn’t cost more than $171 if the vehicle is stored for a day.

If a driver returns to their car mid-tow, the towing company can charge half the towing fee, or $62.50, to unhook the vehicle from the tow truck. That can be paid with either cash or a credit card under state law.

Pro-Tow holds the city’s contract, towing nearly 20,000 vehicles in three years. The firm also uses other towing companies when the city needs a tow and ProTow can't immediately provide service. Columbus paid out about $2 million to Pro-Tow and its previous vendor last year, compared with about $2.7 million in revenue from tows and impounds.

On private lots, though, Shamrock Towing is the most-prolific towing company in Columbus. Over a three-year period, the company towed nearly 19,000 vehicles, according to the city’s database.

Duffey said Shamrock responds to private lots only when called, but the neighborhoods around Ohio State University and the Short North attract a younger crowd that is more willing to take chances.

People who live near lots where vehicles are often towed say they see tow trucks prowling for violators.

“If it’s a busy weekend, they are always out,” said Reggie Browley, an Ohio State student who lives in an off-campus apartment complex where towing occurs daily.

Browley said the complex does have problems with people taking spaces where they aren’t permitted, often stopping there to run to a restaurant on High Street only to return to their car being hauled away.

“I hear people come back all the time and they’re like, 'Where’s my car?' and then you just hear them freak out,” said AJ Stockwell, an Ohio State student. “That’s always kind of upsetting. It’s also nice because if you’re paying for a spot you want to have your spot clear.”

The state legislature has attempted to address towing in recent years, including giving the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio enforcement authority over towing fee limits when cars are taken from private property. The PUCO has fined companies six times since it began enforcement last year, spokesman Matt Schilling said.

State Rep. Tom Patton, a Strongsville Republican, introduced a bill this year to ban towing companies from using “spotters,” individuals who monitor lots and call towing companies when someone parks without a permit.

“That’s something we really think should stop,” he said. “It’s a fine line. You want to protect people’s property rights and their ability to maintain their potentially limited number of parking spaces.”

Brown at Fireproof Apartments said she wants the towing companies to stay aggressive so her tenants have space to park when they need it.

“Nobody is ever happy about getting their car towed. ... But as long as you treat the people with respect, and most of them aren’t happy about it, but they treat you with respect also,” said Jim Shriner, owner of Broad & James Towing. “You get some people who are upset no matter what you do.”

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan

dcaruso@dispatch.com

@DougCaruso