The city is considering a new fee that would penalize people who go to court to fight a parking ticket and lose the appeal.
City employees believe the proposed $12.75 surcharge would trim the city's court costs and free up court resources for more serious traffic offences in a timely manner by discouraging people from wasting the court's time, according to a report prepared for city council.
The city is hoping the fee would deter people who take a ticket to court to argue for a reduced fine or people who hope the traffic officer will be a no-show and the charge will be dropped.
"Given that consumer behaviour and court outcomes cannot be predicted, it is difficult to estimate potential savings in reduced court operation costs or offset revenues that will result from the introduction of a fixed fine system," the report stated.
The city hands out about 2.8 million parking tickets each year. Of those, about 307,000 go to trial.
A spokesperson told CP24 that about 60 per cent of people who file an appeal don't bother to show up in court for the trial.
The spokesperson denied claims that the proposed fee is a cash grab, saying the city wouldn't make much revenue from the surcharge.
Each courtroom dedicated to parking ticket disputes has the capacity to handle about 30,000 trials per year at an annual operating cost of about $1 million per courtroom, according to the report.
Drivers who are found not guilty at trial wouldn't have to pay the $12.75 fee.
The proposed fee will be debated by city hall's government management committee June 28.
The report also recommends the city reduce the set fine amount for accessible parking offences, previously known as disabled parking offences, from $450 to $300.
