Achi news desk-
Barnacles have appeared on vehicles in Saskatchewan’s capital, but they’re not crustaceans that live in sticky little water.
The bright yellow devices, which are used to ensure parking officers pay their tickets, may soon be traveling to other parts of the country.
“You’ll see more and more Barnacles,” said Colin Heffron, chairman of Barnacle Parking, in an interview from New Jersey.
When Barn is installed on a vehicle windshield, commercial grade suction cups clamp onto the glass with more than 450 kilograms of force. It can only be removed when the driver uses a QR code on the device to pay outstanding fines.
A private company in Ontario has signed on to use Barnacles, and the University of Regina has begun using the device for people who continually fail to pay fines.
“It is important to note that the Barnacle is only used as a last resort,” university spokesman Paul Dederick said in an emailed statement.
Dederick said the Barnacle was used after an extensive process. Anyone who has accumulated $199 or more in unpaid parking fines is given persistent offender status and their vehicle gets a warning if on campus.
If the fines are still unpaid and the vehicle is seen on campus, it’s time for the Barnacle.
Dederick said it is “a less intrusive enforcement tool than traditional towing and offers a less arduous experience for offenders than using a parking boot or wheel clamp.”
The university has used the Barnacle four times since January, and it has been the subject of much attention on social media.
Heffron said the device – with a catchy name, bright color and prominent display on windshields – often goes viral online when it’s used in a new market.
SpongeBob Square Pants comparisons abounded when the New York Police Department began a pilot project with the devices earlier this month. Police said on social media that Barnacles allow officers to reduce parking congestion and crack down on vehicles that are a nuisance and a hazard.
Heffron said that Barnacles have been used in universities, in municipalities and by other police forces across the United States from Florida to Michigan and even in Hawaii.
People have posted online different ways to try to dislodge the Barnacle, from running a defroster to using a credit card to lift the suction cups.
Unfortunately for those who need to pay a fine, the only way to actually remove the device is to remove the windshield, Heffron said. If someone tampers with the device, it triggers an “ear piercing” alarm.
The aim of the Barnacle is to prevent people from parking illegally without the extra hassles that come with towing or a parking boot. It also promotes compliance, Heffron said.
“If you’re driving into a car park and happen to see some of these on the wind, you’re not parking there illegally,” he said. “You’re going to move … you’re going to pay for your parking.”
While the company is just investigating the Canadian market, Heffron said it has been tested to ensure it can withstand the cold northern climate.
The company hired a freezer truck and parked it outside its New Jersey office, testing the Barnacles inside. The devices have been used in Alaska.
“We are 100 per cent ready to serve Canada,” Heffron said.
