Bangor is missing more than $10,000 in unpaid parking tickets, according to the manager who oversees the city’s parking services.
More than 100 vehicles have unpaid tickets, and some drivers have racked up dozens, Parke Clemons, area manager for PCI Municipal Services, said. He did not specify how long those unpaid parking tickets have accrued for.
Anyone with more than three unpaid tickets is at risk for towing — and soon, the Barnacle.
The Barnacle is a device that 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 their overdue tickets plus a $75 fine to remove the Barnacle, they will be instructed to return it to the Pickering Square Parking Garage downtown, Clemons said.
The city hopes that the Barnacle parking enforcement system, which will roll out next month, will help curb repeat offenders and cut down the number of outstanding parking tickets, Clemons said. The decision to introduce the Barnacle in Bangor was announced at a City Council committee meeting last week.
Bangor is leasing the Barnacle for $250 per month on a one-year contract, with the possibility of renewing, cancelling or adding a second Barnacle next year, Clemons said.
A city official previously inaccurately stated that the city would purchase the enforcement device directly.
The Barnacle can be used on any car that has more than two parking tickets, regardless of whether the car is parked illegally at the time.
And if someone attempts to drive with the Barnacle still attached to their windshield, parking enforcement can track the car with the device’s GPS signal and notify law enforcement, Clemons said.
Drivers have two weeks left to pay off overdue tickets without paying an extra fine, as part of a parking amnesty period through July 31.
Clemons reported positive results so far.
“We’ve got quite a few large amounts being paid off, so I think it’s working,” he said.
Drivers with outstanding parking tickets can pay them online or in person at the Pickering Square Parking Garage.