Road Runner: 'Barnacle' enforcement could sink Tucson parking scofflaws' driving plans

Drivers with numerous unpaid parking tickets will no longer get a reprieve beginning Monday in Tucson, city officials said.

Park Tucson’s vehicle immobilization program will restart targeting “scofflaws,” which the agency cites as vehicle owners with three or more unpaid parking citations.

The program was set to start in March 2020 before the pandemic-caused shutdowns. The city had not been conducting an immobilization for “several years” because of the data unavailable to them, according to Donovan Durband, Park Tucson’s administrator.

Park Tucson is the city’s parking enforcement division that oversees the downtown area, along the Sun Link streetcar route and in several permit-required neighborhoods around downtown and the University of Arizona.

During most of 2020, there was less enforcement around parking meters, but agents did cite other safety and neighborhood permit violations, Durband said.

Now with software improvements and better connections with the court system information, enforcement agents have real-time access to the scofflaw list while on the job, the agency said.

As of June 30, Durband said, there were 807 individuals on the list who collectively owed $942,850 from 4,471 tickets. Those on this list were sent letters in June ahead of the program’s restart.

“I mean things are getting back to normal. People are parking, it’s not like everybody’s quarantined anymore. People are getting out there parking, they’re committing violations,” Durband said. “They’re getting tickets, some of them are not paying tickets, letting unpaid tickets accumulate. There are more unpaid tickets from people with three or more unpaid tickets than there were two years ago, and three years ago.”

As agents come across these vehicles on a city street or city property, an immobilization device called a “barnacle” will be installed. These GPS-tracked devices are placed on the windshield to obstruct a driver’s view.

It differs from a traditional “boot” immobilization device that is attached to the wheel. The change was done to keep agents as safe as possible.

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Typically, the agent would have to kneel becoming less visible next to traffic while installing the boot on the driver’s side so the driver doesn’t attempt to drive away, unaware the device was installed.

“This is like a pressurized suction. It’s really impossible to remove the barnacle. The pumps that control the suction can be turned on and off remotely. More importantly an agent with the code can punch in the code on the unit to activate or deactivate the pumps for the suction after the outstanding fines and fees have been satisfied,” Durband said.

Agents will do a last-minute verification to ensure the driver did not satisfy the ticket requirements before installing the device.

Once the driver does take care of the citations, an agent will be immediately dispatched to remove the device, according to Durband.

Officials are reminding those on this list to take care of fines or enroll in a payment plan if deemed by Tucson City Court, before a barnacle can be installed.

Drivers can call the court at 791-4216 or visit in-person at 103 E. Alameda Street. The court is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

There’s a 45-day period to pay those tickets before they become delinquent.

“If you had a ticket for expired meter on the street, it would be a $42 ticket. But if you let that go and don’t pay it by 45 days or don’t indicate to the court that you want to get a hearing, then the court is going to increase the additional fees and charges added to that and some of those are mandated by the state,” Durband said.

The driver will have to appear at a city court hearing within 48 hours of the device’s installation.

Durband said some common ways to avoid these tickets are: When parking it may be best to use a parking garage to avoid tickets; note the signs regarding parking in designated areas, especially in neighborhoods; if using metered parking, the GoTucson Parking mobile app is available to pay and extend metered parking. You can also pay without the app using gotucsonapp.com or without a smart phone at 441-3752.

“If you do get a ticket, you really need to pay attention to it quickly,” said Durband. “The amount that you’re ultimately liable for really increases at the point in which it becomes delinquent.”