Drivers cited for speeding, rolling through a stop sign and other minor traffic infractions in Spring Lake Park will have a way to avoid having a ticket on their record.
But it's going to take some time and some cash (although probably less cash than the ticket itself).
The City Council, at the urging of the police chief, has approved a city-run traffic diversion program even as the Minnesota state auditor has criticized the practice. Currently, 21 Minnesota cities and 15 counties operate diversion programs.
Here's how it works: A police officer issues a ticket but hands the driver a flier with an alternative. Pay a fee to the city, take an online class and get the ticket dismissed. The driver's record stays clean and the city pockets the money instead of the state, which collects for traffic citations.
"The motivation is trying to be compassionate with the public," said Spring Lake Park Police Chief Doug Ebeltoft. "Sometimes you are just not thinking and you do something you normally don't do. It provides the means and ability to address it and learn from it and change the behavior. It's a way to build bridges vs. burn them down."
The program is "purely voluntary," the chief said.
The city's traffic diversion will cost $115 for a single traffic offense, less than a speeding ticket, with traffic fines now approaching $200.
Spring Lake Park is just 2.2 square miles, but busy Central Avenue, University Avenue and County Road 10 all run through it, and city police issue more than 20,000 traffic citations a year, the chief estimated.