The city of Guelph is making it easier for drivers to dispute parking tickets.
Beginning in 2025, drivers in Guelph won’t have to dispute parking tickets in court.
Tabled at a meeting on May 28, city council agreed to implement an administrative penalty system. Rather than fighting the ticket in court, a driver would meet with a city-employed screening officer instead.
Jennifer Charles, general manager of legal and court services with the city, said the dispute would be settled in a matter of weeks or months.
“The current provincial court system is not efficient to process these minor infractions and what we anticipate is that the administrative penalty system would be much faster,” Charles said.
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She said minor parking infractions are typically not adjudicated by the provincial court for up to a year or more.
The system would see parking ticket disputes dealt with by a city employed screening officer and further disputes would be handled by a third-party hearing officer, appointed by council.
Charles said what’s been recommended and approved by council is to start with a penalty system only for parking infractions.
She said it’ll be a phased approach.
Although only parking infractions will be addressed for now, Charles said there is a possibility in the future to expand to cover other driving-related offences including speeding.
She said this penalty system would divert minor infractions from the court and it’ll be a faster process for drivers, leaving them satisfied.
The APS would be implemented in the first quarter of 2025.
“This system is governed by regulation; it will be governed by policies and procedures. It’s intended to be just as fair and transparent as the provincial court system, but much more efficient,” she said.
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