No more court: region amending parking bylaw for fine resolution

Instead of going through the provincial offences court to resolve parking fines on regionally owned streets in Cambridge, the region is amending its traffic and parking bylaw to allow the use of the city's upcoming administrative penalty system.

The change will allow the three cities that operate under an administrative penalty system to manage enforcement through fine collection and appeal resolution.

Right now, under the old bylaw,  local municipalities enforce and prosecute parking infractions on regional roads within each of the local municipalities’ respective boundaries.

But the infractions are processed in accordance with the Provincial Offences Act, which entails the issuance of a provincial offence notice and the right to a trial before the Provincial Offences Court.

The administrative penalty system is an alternative to the Provincial Offences Act system in that once tickets are issued, there's an option for an internal review/appeal process through the municipality instead of the court.

"This approach aids in reducing congestion in the courts, as well as providing a more local and accessible dispute resolution system," reads a report headed to the region's planning and public works committee this week.

According to regional staff, the administrative penalty system is working well for cities that already have it implemented, "without significant process issues or public complaints."

Cambridge is expected to implement its administrative penalty system starting Oct. 11.

Since the city is incurring all costs related to enforcement, it will retain fine revenues as well, which range from $35 for typical parking infractions to $300 for parking in a designated accessible parking space without the proper permit.