ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — Motorists formed long lines at the St Catherine Parish Court on Wednesday as the Court Administration Division (CAD) rolled out its “Traffic Ticket Public Day” initiative aimed at easing congestion and clearing a significant backlog of outstanding matters.

The initiative provides motorists with a streamlined and convenient process for resolving outstanding traffic tickets, while addressing a backlog of approximately 200,000 tickets in the parish.

Speaking outside the court on Wednesday, Director of Client Services, Communications and Information at the CAD, Kadiesh Jarret-Fletcher, shared that all courtrooms are strictly dedicated to dealing with traffic ticket matters on Wednesday.

“We also put in three additional courtrooms outside, all dealing with traffic ticket matters…This is to ensure that we are very efficient and we show proper regard for people’s time today so that they are not here with us for a long time,” Jarret-Fletcher told Observer Online.

She noted that the initiative comes amid previous compliance challenges linked to system glitches that affected the issuance of warrants for outstanding tickets.

“But I can assure Jamaicans that all of those glitches have been addressed. What that means is that the warrants are now produced electronically. The warrants are signed electronically, and that means we mass produce warrants now,” she said.

“That is why we said before we activate these warrants for these outstanding tickets, let’s give our motorists the opportunity…to come in and have these traffic tickets dealt with,” Jarret-Fletcher added.

To maximise the number of motorists served, court operations will be extended beyond the usual 9:00 am start. It will continue into night court and end at 9:00 pm on Wednesday.