London launches new system for dealing with parking violations

The City of London islaunchinga new system to process parking violations that aims to reduce congestion in provincial courts, whichcurrently handle the infractions.

Starting Friday, the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMP) will employ a municipal screening officer, who can modify, cancel, or affirm parking penalties. The city says the AMP willprovide a faster and more accessible dispute resolution process.

Officers will also be able to issue tickets by mail to the registered owner of a vehicle.

"The ability to mail tickets to vehicle owners brings a much needed enforcement tool," saidStephen Miller, manager of municipal law enforcement andparking in a statement.

"In school zones in particular, our team is often called to enforce parking regulations. We hope that this practice will prevent vehicles that are illegally parked from pulling out in an unsafe manner to avoid being ticketed."

There will be no change to existing parking regulations, but if you receivea penalty notice, you will have only 15 days to pay or dispute it. After 15 days, the penalty is no longer disputableand additional fees will apply.

Municipal parking fines range from $30 to $100 depending on the location of the infraction.

For more on the AMP, visit the city website here.