If you get a ticket in the city of Pittsburgh, there could be a higher chance that instead of getting it on your car windshield, you're getting it in the mail.

"I don't know, I have conflicting views," Nathan Latta of Beechview said.

Latta does believe it's "efficient."

"It cuts down on people on the street, on labor costs for the few people enforcing it," he said.

The parking authority said that too, and added that it keeps officers safe. It's why you're going to see more of this now as it expands its ticket-by-mail program.

"We're expanding to about 13 additional surface lots," Pittsburgh Parking Authority executive director Dave Onorato said.

You'll be seeing this kind of enforcement on the streets, too. An officer sits in a car patrolling those streets, Onorato added.

"We're rolling it out in the Downtown area, Oakland and the Strip District right now," Onorato said.

The program started in 2024. According to the most recent monthly violation report the parking authority shared with KDKA, ticket-by-mail violations went up from 21,140 in 2024 to 88,437 in 2025. Total violations also went up from 244,311 in 2024 and 310,680 in 2025.

"If you just pull in and run in and out of the store and you're in one of our surface lots, you have 15 minutes to do that before you're tagged," Onorato said.

There is a 3 to 5 minute grace period on the street parking enforcement, Onorato added.

The parking authority says you can still contest a ticket if you feel you don't deserve it. You can do it online or schedule a hearing at parking court by phone.