Across most of Northern Virginia, contesting a parking ticket is almost a guaranteed hassle: Drivers must schedule a court date, show up in person and wait as long as it takes to plead their case. But in Alexandria, convincing the city that a parking fine wasn’t justified could become as easy as logging on to the Internet.
Alexandria city officials are preparing to start a ticket adjudication program next week that will allow the public to challenge parking tickets using video conferencing software, eliminating the need for drivers to show up in person for a hearing. City officials believe it’s one of the only programs of its kind.
Laura Triggs, the city’s acting chief financial officer, said the Finance Department came up with the idea to make it more convenient to contest tickets — and to free up parking spaces in Old Town, where the parking department is located. The city has about 8,000 ticket adjudications each year, Triggs said.
“We’d rather have people parking to go to stores and restaurants [in Old Town]. Do I need them to be parking to go to an adjudication? Someone else can use that space,” she said.
Video conferencing also makes it easier for out-of-town visitors to challenge tickets, Triggs said.
Initially officials had considered doing away with adjudicators entirely, instead using a computer-generated avatar to interact with drivers, Triggs said. But the accused have a right to face their accuser in person, so the department will work with a contractor to conduct the online hearings, she said. It’s expected to cost less than $10,000 a year.
Drivers can still contest a ticket by mail or by email, but online hearings would run just 20 minutes or less, Triggs said.
There’s no telling whether the new system will encourage more drivers to challenge their tickets, but Triggs says she wants to make sure drivers have a chance to speak up if they feel they’ve been wrongfully ticketed.
“I might lose parking ticket revenue,” Triggs said, “but I’ve given you an opportunity to have your say.”
