‘Administrative penalty’ added to parking enforcement in Whitby
Published March 21, 2024 at 10:39 am
Fighting parking tickets in Whitby is set to get easier with the rollout of a new administrative penalty.
The town approved the new system at the March council meeting “to streamline how parking tickets are issued, as well as the process to dispute them.”
Currently, by-law enforcement issues the ticket on-site. This ticket can then be challenged it the Provincial Offences Court. A town report found this system “slow, time-consuming and frustrating.”
As a result, the town looked to Oshawa for a solution. The neighbouring city instituted an administrative penalty system back in 2008.
Similar systems are in use in numerous Ontario municipalities, including Newmarket, Mississauga, Burlington, Milton, Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Markham, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan.
Following this lead, Whitby will create a “quasi-judicial” process within the town’s organization to hear parking disputes. The report described the APS as a much more efficient option.
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“APS will allow tickets to be issued faster and without the need for the infraction to be served at the time of the offence,” the town noted.
Unlike the courthouse’s strict hours, APS allows disputes to be heard more conveniently and, in some cases, virtually. APS also makes enforcement easier, as the by-law can use a licence plate reader to flag the car and issue the ticket later. The town plans on using this reader to target school zones during drop-off and pick-up times.
“For residents, APS will help improve road safety through consistent enforcement. Where infractions occur and are mailed later to the owner of a vehicle,” the report explained, “this will help create a ‘ghost effect’ in challenging enforcement areas (like automated speed enforcement) to ensure more consistent compliance over time.”
This new system will roll out on May 1 to allow time for the town and residents to transition.
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