New way to contest city parking tickets easier: expert

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2015 (4034 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PEOPLE who want to contest a Winnipeg parking ticket will have a “one-stop shop” next year to rule on their fight.

Instead of a provincial court judge deciding on a disputed parking ticket, an adjudicator in the Parking Authority office will decide the matter.

The change imposed by the provincial government is expected to take effect by mid-2016, and will cost the city an estimated $660,000 to set up and more than $550,000 in annual salaries, the Parking Authority said.

To motorists, there will be one big difference. “It will be in one location — a one-stop shop,” said Colin Stewart of the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

Instead of taking a disputed ticket to provincial court at 373 Broadway, motorists will appear before a City of Winnipeg screening officer, who will review the circumstances of the ticket. If the motorist does not agree with the decision of the screening officer, they will schedule an appearance before a provincially appointed adjudicator in the Parking Authority office, Stewart said.

The province off-loaded the adjudication of parking tickets onto the city with new legislation — the Municipal By-Law Enforcement Act — in 2013.

The change may help some of Len Eastoe’s clients who are battling photo radar tickets jammed up in an overwhelmed provincial court system.

“It’s just been ridiculous,” said the former policeman who works for Traffic Ticket Experts.

After photo radar enforcement began in 2003, the courts quickly got backlogged with six to eight-month waits for a trial date, he said.

“Now it’s as long as 14 months.”

He said more people are fed up and fighting photo radar tickets. The change may speed things up for Eastoe’s clients, he said.

“Anything you can take out of that system and deal with in another way will relieve the pressure,” Eastoe said. “Whether or not it’s fair to people is the bigger question.”

The switch isn’t cheap.

In its report to Winnipeg’s executive policy committee Wednesday, the Parking Authority is asking for $660,857 in upfront costs such as design, renovations and information technology hardware. It’s also asking for $550,000 a year to hire screening officers and adjudicators.

The Parking Authority is looking at best practices in other cities and provinces such as Ontario and B.C. where similar changes have occurred, Stewart said.

The screening officers’ duties and responsibilities haven’t been established, but will be spelled out and approved by council in a municipal bylaw, said Stewart.

The adjudicators will be appointed by the province and paid by the city, he said.

Until the new system is in place, the process of challenging a parking ticket before a provincial court judge remains the same.

 

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca