Chester police to relaunch paper parking tickets; department targets June 1 rollout

City of Chester — The City of Chester Public Safety Committee on an informational agenda heard the police commissioner describe plans to reintroduce paper parking tickets across city areas not covered by the city’s contracted premium-parking operator, with an estimated rollout during the week of June 1 pending final ticket design and vendor work.

The commissioner called the change a visibility and quality-of-life measure, saying physical tickets show the public that the city is enforcing rules rather than relying solely on state citations. "If just reimplementing paper tickets is the answer, I'm all for it," the police commissioner said. The committee was told the change would apply to non-premium residential areas currently outside the enforcement zone of the city's contracted parking manager, Premier Parking.

The relaunch aims to address violations the department said it sees most often and that are covered by the city code identified in the meeting as "5-11," including standing/parking too close to a fire hydrant, parking within a crosswalk or too close to a corner or driveway, blocking the street, parking on the sidewalk, overnight commercial vehicles, and parking in spaces reserved for disabled drivers. The commissioner said ordinance fines in place since about 2021 range from roughly $25 to $75, with hydrant violations typically the most expensive.

The department explained why it prefers city-issued paper tickets to the current practice of writing state citations: when officers issue state citations, the city receives about 13% of the fine rather than the full penalty. "When you're writing a state citation, we only get a percentage of the fine, not even the total cost," Councilman Green said during public comment. The police commissioner confirmed that city-issued tickets would keep revenue and provide more visible enforcement.

Processing and payment: the committee heard the police department plans to have paper tickets processed in-house by interns or officers assigned to light duty rather than creating new court workload. Payment instructions would appear on the back of the ticket; the department recommended mail-in money orders and said it is considering adding a QR code to enable card payments, but noted card acceptance and QR processing would require coordination with city technology staff (referred to in the meeting as Mr. Troutman) and likely add cost. Walk-in payments would be accepted Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; the department said it will not accept cash or checks for ticket payments as described in the meeting.

Challenge process: attendees were told a person may request a court date to contest a ticket; contested parking citations proceed through the district court (not the police station). The commissioner cautioned people that officers will use body-worn camera footage when tickets are issued and said that footage will be part of court evidence.

Rollout timing and vendor: Sergeant Bettanyer told the committee the department is working with a vendor identified in the meeting as Trafiterra (vendor name provided by staff) to design and print the ticket books; she said the vendor believed a June 1 date was feasible "as long as we don't get overly complicated" in design and content. The estimated launch is contingent on final ticket content, printing and any vendor lead times.

Equipment and data: the discussion included electronic handheld ticketing devices as a desired long-term goal because they allow data capture, reporting and storage, but the department said the upfront device and training costs make paper tickets the cheaper option to begin enforcement quickly. The commissioner and other members said the department intends to track ticket counts, payments, court challenges and outcomes so the city can evaluate revenue and, if warranted, invest in electronic devices later.

Abandoned and commercial vehicles: the meeting also covered abandoned-vehicle stickers and enforcement against commercial vehicles stored in residential areas. The department said it is using brightly colored sticker tags for abandoned vehicles that include date/time and vehicle information; the sticker warns the owner the vehicle may be towed at the owner's expense if it remains on city property for a specified period. The transcript cited a seven-day notice period on the sticker as the intended timeline before towing action or further administrative steps. Staff discussed coordination with the city’s licensing and inspections (L&I) division when vehicles indicate active repair or business operations that may require a code-enforcement response rather than a parking ticket.

Geographic scope and outreach: the commissioner said the department will first target areas with the most parking calls and complaints; locations noted in the meeting as outside Premier Parking coverage included Sun Hill, Widener (referred to as Widener/Widener area near Crozer Hospital), Nova Vista and other residential neighborhoods. The department plans a public-information push via the city communications director and social media to let residents know paper tickets are returning and to explain the most common violations; staff emphasized the need for clear messaging so residents do not come to the station expecting to contest tickets in person.

Committee action and next steps: the presentation was informational; no ordinance change or new formal policy was voted on during the session. The committee approved routine minutes earlier in the meeting; the police department said it will proceed with internal steps to finalize ticket design, coordinate payment options with city technology staff and begin targeted enforcement after the ticket books arrive.

"We're not trying to sneak up on people," the commissioner said. "This is a way to let the community know that this isn't something new. This is something we're getting back to."