As I learned from this forum a few years ago (confirmed by the one and only Tom Champion) the best way to appeal a ticket is NOT to actually file a written appeal; those will almost always be denied. Instead, let the timeframe for responding pass, and the city will send a reminder of the fine, along with a hearing date and time, to the house where the car is registered.

In my experience, and in many others who have posted here, doing this appeal in person leads to a higher likelihood (not a guarantee, of course) of tickets being overturned or changed.

The hearing is really just you and an administrator from T&P sitting in an office talking about what happened and why you think the ticket was in error or otherwise unfair. It might work, it might not, but if you can take an hour off from work fairly easily it's worth the trip.