Appeal Infraction

Please read the following information carefully before proceeding with your appeal.

A Ministry of Transportation Ontario vehicle search to identify ownership, if unknown, will be done 7 days after date of violation if the citation has not been paid or appealed, and a Service Fee will apply. Appeals will still be accepted within 14 days of the infraction date.

The decision of the Appeals Committee is final and fines are considered due when the decision is rendered. Unfamiliarity with Western University's traffic and parking regulations does not constitute grounds for appeal.

  • Appeals will not be reviewed if you have previously outstanding unpaid citations on your account
  • Appeal your ticket within 7 days of issuance to avoid incurring the $19 MTO search fee
  • Appeals will not be processed without supporting documentation, if applicable
  • Any documentation can be uploaded with your online appeal
  • Photographs are taken with each citation

Important Reminders


The following reasons are not considered grounds for an appeal:

  • "Everybody parks there / I am the only one who got a ticket."
  • "I was only there for five or ten minutes."
  • "I've parked there for the last five weeks (months/years) and I've never been cited before."
  • "I didn't know."
  • "I thought it was a space."
  • "I didn't see the sign."
  • "I can't afford the fine."
  • "I had to use the washroom facilities (or had a sick friend that had to use the washroom facilities)."
  • "My permit/pass/parking receipt was not properly displayed because..."
  • "I parked on landscaping/hash lines/end of aisle/reserved space or ungated permit lot because there were no other spaces available."
  • "I have no Wifi or internet service."
  • "I paid for visitor parking after I recieved the citation"

Service Fees

Service Fees/Admin Fees cannot be appealed - they include:
 
Vehicle Search Fee (MTO) - Ministry of Transportation search to determine vehicle ownership
Collection Fees - unpaid tickets may be sent to a collection agency
Towing Fee - determined by the towing company at time of tow
Vehicle Storage Fee - vehicles towed and not recovered after 24 hours will incur a daily storage fee
Academic Seal Fee - students with tickets which are unpaid after 30 days may have academic records sealed
Visitor Parking Fees - daily lot charges for visitor parking

 

Fire Route, Tow Zone, Western Special Constable Service Tickets Etc.

Appeals for the following infractions,

  • Traffic tickets issued by Western Special Constable Service
  • Parked in an Accessible space
  • Parked illegally - e.g. parked in Fire Lane, Tow Zone

will be considered, however, due to the nature of these offenses, an appeal is often not successful.

Administration of Appeals

As part of the appeal process, you may request an open hearing with the Appeals Committee. An open hearing provides you with the opportunity to review your appeal with the committee, in person. The committee is comprised of several members of the Western community who are not employees of Parking Services.

Schedules of committee members determine dates and times for open hearings.

If the appellant elects for an open hearing, and subsequently does not attend their open hearing, the citation will be upheld, the appeal will be dismissed, and there will not be an opportunity to re-appeal. Please respect the time given by committee members to hear an appeal, if requesting an open hearing.

Please see our Appeals Committee page for further information.

Writing Your Appeal

Tell us in your online appeal:

  • why you think the parking violation should be cancelled or varied
  • limit your appeal to the space provided in the online form (500 characters max)
  • attach any evidence that supports your case

Appeal Results

Decisions surrounding parking violation appeals will be made at the discretion of the Manager of Parking and/or the Parking Appeals Committee.

The appellant will be notified of their appeal decision via email. Please ensure you are providing a valid and correct email address as a decision will be sent to this address within six weeks of submitting your appeal. Decisions are final and binding.

Unsettled Parking Accounts


Outstanding fines are applied to accounts through vehicle license numbers. Registered owners of vehicles are traced through the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. The University may take action against persons found in default of fines through:

  • withdrawal of parking privileges
  • towing of offending vehicles at owner's expense
  • sealing of student records
  • submission of account to a collection agency

Submit Appeal Online