Londoners looking to fight a parking ticket will no longer have to go to provincial court.
As of Friday, parking-related violation disputes in the city will be heard by a municipal screening officer, who will be able to modify, cancel, or affirm penalties.
The change is part of the City of London's new administrative monetary penalty system, which aims to increase efficiency by reducing congestion in the provincial courts and speeding up the dispute resolution process for parking violations.
Under the new system, those issued a ticket will have only 15 days to pay or dispute the violation. After that time window closes, the ability to dispute a ticket disappears and additional fees will apply.
Through the administrative monetary penalty system, municipal enforcement officers will also be granted the ability to mail parking violations to the owner of offending vehicles, in addition to placing tickets on windshields.
“The ability to mail tickets to vehicle owners brings a much-needed enforcement tool,” said Stephen Miller, the city's manager of parking enforcement. “In school zones in particular, our team is often called to enforce parking regulations. We hope that this practice will prevent vehicles that are illegally parked from pulling out in an unsafe manner to avoid being ticketed.”
Existing parking regulations are unchanged by the new administrative monetary penalty system and drivers are reminded to always check street and parking signage in order to avoid getting a ticket.