Cobourg preparing for people challenging hefty $160.00 parking fines.
There are no plans to change the set fines for parking in areas of Cobourg, but the town will alter they way trials are held.
On June 21, 2022, Cobourg started enforcing $160.00 fines for expired metre or no ticket displayed in certain areas of town.
Right from the outset, people were shocked at the hefty fine and vowed to fight it in court.
But with the onslaught of potentially up to seven hundred tickets being handed out, Cobourg is tweaking how the tickets will be dealt with going forward to speed up the court process.
Manager of Communications, Kara Euale said at the provincial level the priority of trials is given to Part I and Part III matters, in accordance with the current Provincial Scheduling Guidelines (as prescribed by the Ministry of the Attorney General), the Province of Ontario sets the number of trial dates for each Municipality, which pre-determines the number of trials that can be heard within a calendar year.
But, this means that the wait times to appeal a ticket can be several months.
At the end of March 2023, Cobourg will be introducing a new system for hearing Part II trials. The Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) will provide the Town of Cobourg with a more efficient and flexible process for payment, appeal and collection of parking penalties said Euale.
AMPS will be fully managed by the Town of Cobourg and will replace the judicial appeal process currently managed by the County of Northumberland. Increasing the number of calendar days dedicated to hearing Part II Trials, creating a speedier trial system while also freeing up valuable court time for more serious matters.
The Town will be conducting a Public Engagement survey as a follow up to the waterfront parking updates and changes implemented in 2022.
Enforcement Time Kicks In for Waterfront Parking Regulations in Cobourg
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
