Houston City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a change that would let parking enforcement officers mail a citation to the address tied to a vehicle’s registered license plate instead of leaving it on the windshield, KPRC 2 reported. Officers would keep the option of placing a ticket on the windshield, and the change would extend the window to pay or contest a citation from 30 days to 40 days, with the city given 30 days after a violation to issue one.
City officials describe the measure as a modernization of parking enforcement that could also reduce confrontations during enforcement, and Council Member Twila Carter called it a step forward in modernizing the enforcement of parking regulations. Drivers interviewed by the station raised two objections: unreliable mail delivery, and citations reaching a registered owner who was not the person driving, which they said could affect rideshare drivers and borrowed vehicles. Each mailed citation would carry the violation type, date, time and location, photo or video evidence, the license plate number and the fine amount.
The parts of the Lake Houston area inside Houston city limits, including Kingwood, fall under city parking rules, so the change would apply to drivers there and to anyone parking in the city.
