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As cars continue to get stolen across Canada in record numbers, Costco is now selling driveway security bollards.
The TikTok account, CostcoFindsCanada, recently shared a video that shows a set of manual retractable bollards for sale for $569.99.
“Reduce the risk of auto theft with these security bollards,” the video notes in the caption.
The bollards, which are vertical steel posts, are branded with the logo of “Ontario Bollards,” which operates out of Georgetown, Ontario, according to the company website. The company confirmed to National Post that their products are available at Costco.
The video prompted a mixed reaction on social media, with some commentators questioning how the bollards would perform in the winter and others noting that it’s “crazy that we need this now.”
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Industry reports have found that both Ontario and Quebec have seen a nearly 50 per cent increase in vehicle thefts since 2022. According to a 2023 report from the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association (CFLA), a vehicle is stolen every six minutes.
Last June, a report from CFLA noted that Toronto saw a 300 per cent increase in vehicle thefts from 2015 to 2022, with the problem growing progressively worse each year. In 2022, more than 9,600 vehicles were stolen in Toronto alone.
The majority of the vehicles are being stolen from residential driveways, usually in the overnight hours.
While police suggest measures like investing in anti-theft devices, such as ignition or fuel kill switches, steering wheel, gearshift, and hood locks or steering column collars and electric alarms, others have turned to bollards.
Toronto resident Brad Lucas installed bollards at his home last February after his white Ferrari GCT4 Lusso was nearly stolen right out of his driveway less than two weeks after he purchased it.
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After two people attempted and failed to steal the car, he began looking into security solutions.
“I had actually went and bought a parking boot,” Lucas told National Post in March. “It’s kind of unsightly, but these guys, when they’re trying to steal a car, they don’t want to spend a lot of time mucking about. They just want to try breaking the window and do whatever they need to do to get in, get started and take off.”
He later came across Bollard Boys GTA, a local bollard installation service, and after receiving approval from the city, went ahead with the installation of three retractable bollards.
“The lovely thing about it is, when they’re down, you don’t know they’re there,” he said. “It’s inconspicuous during the day when they’re dropped, but when I come home at night and I’m putting the car to bed, I pull them up. There’s no way for anybody to be able to futz around to try and get the car out between the bollards because there’s no way it would fit.”
Achoy Ladrick, one of Bollard Boys GTA’s co-founders, told the Post demand for bollards has climbed over the past three years “as problems have worsened.”
“The bollards themselves are becoming more normalized,” Ladrick said. “It’s been a growing demand from when we initially started.”
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