Waterloo Parking Ticket, You Got One. Now What?

1. Pay the parking ticket
2. Dispute the ticket 

You can get a Waterloo parking ticket when you park or stop in a zone where you’re not supposed to park or stop.

You can have a parking violation in Waterloo if you stop or park on the LRT route. This is because the LRT route is reserved for light rail vehicles and construction vehicles.

Parking overnight without registering your car can also result in a $35 ticket. You have to register by 1:30 am. If you have an unregistered car and park from 2:30 am to 6 am, you will get a ticket as a Waterloo parking violation.

You can leave your car in a parking spot overnight 15 times per year as long as you register. 

Some of the most common violations taken from the City of Waterloo website are:

• Within 3 meters of a point on the curb or edge of the roadway nearest a fire hydrant.
• Within 15 meters of the nearest rail of a level railway crossing.
• Within 9 meters of an intersecting roadway.
• Within 15 meters of an intersection controlled by traffic control signals or a roundabout.
• In front of or within 1.5 meters of the entrance to a driveway or so as to prevent ingress to or egress from such driveway
• In such a manner as to obstruct an entrance on the highway to or from a private road or lane.
• In such a manner as to obstruct a crosswalk or traffic flow.
• For a longer period of time than 3 consecutive hours.
• Between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
• For the purpose of repairing, washing, or maintenance of a vehicle, except when such use of the highway is unavoidable through emergency.
• Within 15 meters on either side of a bus stop.
• Within a reserved lane during the hours and days that the reserved lane is in effect.

The City of Waterloo went from a court system for the dispute to an “administrative monetary system” in 2019. This means that instead of wasting time and money in the court system, there’s a separate system for disputing your Waterloo parking ticket. 

You have 30 days from receiving the ticket to dispute it. To dispute your Waterloo parking ticket, you need to request a Screening Review and book a screening review appointment online. 

A Screening Review is completed by a Screening Officer. You can bring in documents or evidence to support your position. A Screening Officer can:

• Cancel the parking ticket so you don’t owe anything
• Confirm the ticket
• Reduce the amount you owe
• Extend the time for payment 

If you are facing financial hardship, bring in evidence to support your claim. A Screening Officer can cancel, reduce or extend the time of payment if they are satisfied that the payment of the parking ticket is causing undue hardship. To show undue hardship, you can bring in documents like Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, and Disability Pension. 

If you’re not happy with the decision of the Screening Officer, you can appeal the decision with the Hearing Review. You have 30 days from receiving the screening decision to appeal the decision.

Your hearing will be held by a Hearing Officer. If you don’t show up for the hearing, you’ll be charged a fine of $50. At the hearing, the city will present first. After that, you can present your evidence. The Hearing Officer’s decision is final.

You have 15 days from receiving the final Hearing Officer’s decision to pay your fine. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay additional administrative fees.

If you don’t schedule a Screening Review within 30 days, you’ll have to pay extra for a vehicle ownership search in addition to your parking ticket.

If you still haven’t scheduled a Screening Review after 60 days and haven’t paid your parking ticket, a late fee will be added to parking ticketing. You could end up paying much more than a simple $35 ticket.

At this point, the City of Waterloo will add a notice to your account, and you won’t be able to renew your license plate. Remember you could get another ticket for not renewing your license plate.

If you choose not to pay your penalty notice, you won’t be able to renew your license plate. In fact, you could even have your car towed or booted. This happens when you don’t renew your license plate.