Beginning Monday, April 23, city residents and visitors will have a chance to contest a traffic ticket, negotiate a payment plan, or plead guilty to a lesser offense. City officials say Rochester’s new Traffic Violations Agency is about fairness, since suburban communities already provide drivers with this opportunity.
“A traffic ticket is meant to deter bad behavior and enforce the rules of the road, not to drag already-struggling people further into poverty,” Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said in a written statement. “We fixed a systemic inequity that was failing many of our residents.”
State lawmakers had to approve legislation to create the new agency and provide funding for it. The new Traffic Violations Agency will be overseen by Sherry Walker-Cowart, former president and CEO of the Center for Dispute Settlement, and it will be located downtown at 200 East Main Street.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Traffic Violations Bureau in the Reynolds Building at 16 East Main Street will close on Friday, April 20.
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2018.
So, instead of fixing the problem we circumvent it. The real problem is that responsible drivers such as myself are often penalized with stupid side of the road tickets where it seems as though the RPD are waiting for the click of the clock. This leaves us to pay the tickets while the irresponsible drive unsafe cars, abandon junk cars, etc… What the hell does creating another layer of bureaucracy accomplish for the price of tea in this city?
I am not sure I understand this. Instead of negotiating a payment plan or pleading to a lesser offense, why not start with some excellent training for those writing the tickets so the tickets are fair and accurate from the start?
If you ran a red light or parked illegally, why would you be able to plead to a lesser violation? Like I said, I don’t get it.