You’ve heard of the yellow parking boot. But what about the parking Barnacle?
Bangor residents and visitors may soon see this new parking enforcement tool, which is a large yellow plastic rectangle that attaches to a car’s windshield with suction cups, around town.
The city is going to “release the Barnacle” in August, economic development officer Biguita Hernandez-Smith said at a City Council committee meeting on Monday.
The launch will follow a one-month parking amnesty period that will end July 31. For drivers with unpaid tickets that are more than 30 days old, the late fee will be waived if they pay the tickets this month. Parking tickets are typically doubled if the driver doesn’t pay within 30 days, according to the city’s website.
Bangor has purchased one Barnacle device with the aim of modernizing parking enforcement and “just to be more serious in enforcement of parking violations,” Hernandez-Smith told the Bangor Daily News. She said the city did not have an exact date yet for when the Barnacle will launch, but it will be sometime in early August.
The Barnacle covers a car’s windshield and obstructs the driver’s vision, essentially making it impossible — or very dangerous — to drive the car. Once a driver pays the fine, they get a code that unlocks the device, which they must then return to a drop box, according to the manufacturer’s website.
Hernandez-Smith said she expects that the month of amnesty will significantly decrease the number of people with overdue parking tickets, meaning few drivers would be at risk of getting the Barnacle placed on their car.
She estimated that buying the Barnacle will cost somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, but did not know the exact figure.
The introduction of the Barnacle is one of a few recent changes to Bangor’s parking system. The city also launched ParkMobile, an app-based parking payment system, for metered downtown lots last month. Drivers can reserve parking spots in advance and extend their time through the app, Hernandez-Smith said.
Drivers with outstanding parking tickets can pay them online or in person at the Pickering Square Parking Garage.
