Columbia to pilot “barnacle” ticket enforcement

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The barnacles are coming.

Leadership with the City of Columbia’s parking department gave a presentation to the city council on Tuesday which outlined how the department will be using a new device to enforce parking tickets in the city.

The large yellow device- called a “Barnacle” - will be latched onto the windshield of an offender who:

Has three or more citations, and
the citations are older than 30 days, and
are valued at more than $100

The Barnacles cometh. @CityofColumbia Parking is rolling out a ticket enforcement pilot using the "barnacle" - a windshield blocking device and requires payment to get it off. The end game is to increase parking ticket compliance and reduce tow truck need- more on @wis10 pic.twitter.com/QP7t21CAyk
— Chris Joseph WIS (@Chris_D_Joseph) May 9, 2023

The offender would then have to scan a QR code on the barnacle, pay $35 to get a release code, and then return the Barnacle to a designated drop-off site.

If the offender fails to return the barnacle in 24 hours, they would be subjected to a $250 hold fee.

The pilot is designed to test the device on limited blocks and leadership mentioned Main Street and Saluda Avenue as targeted locations. The goal is to increase compliance with the city’s parking rules and reduce the number of tow trucks downtown.

The device features GPS and an alarm in the event of tampering or attempts to drive with the barnacle on.

The timeline of the pilot is unclear.

Charleston rolled out the barnacles in 2022.

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