Last week, OU Parking Services retracted the implementation of the Barnacle – a new device that would replace towing – less than eight hours after its announcement.
The Barnacle, a device that attaches to a vehicle’s windshield using 1000 pounds of suction, was supposed to be deployed Jan. 21 for drivers who have three outstanding fines of 30 days. Parking and Transportation Services within will issue a warning notifying the driver of the outstanding fines and drivers have three days to respond before the Barnacle is deployed on their car.
But after backlash on social media, OU Parking announced in a statement the Barnacle would not be used yet, and it is under review until “further input from the OU community.” If OU Parking decides to implement the Barnacle in the future students will be given at least a 30-day notice, according to the statement.
“We are still working on a plan that will allow dialogue between OU Parking and the OU Community,” said Kris Glenn, director of parking and transportation, in an email.
The university was renting five Barnacles at the time at “no cost to the university,” Glenn said. Barnacle charges users a $35 release fee for every transaction compared to the existing relationship with the towing company that charges $50 to $60 to release a vehicle.
With the Barnacle, drivers would be required to pay 30-day late fines, as well as the $35 fee that goes to the Barnacle company and a deposit of $50. The $50 deposit would be returned to their account once the Barnacle is returned to its drop box.
Glenn said the idea to implement the Barnacle came from a parking conference in an effort to provide a “friendlier alternative to towing.” Glenn said Parking Services expected feedback, “but the amount was surprising,” and “it was that feedback that prompted us to take a pause.”
“I think the message that it is an alternative to towing was not clear initially,” Glenn said. “I hope through dialogue the OU community understands this came from a place of providing a more convenient, cost-saving alternative to towing for students.”
Much of the backlash from the OU community came from worries about how the new device would disproportionately affect students who were already struggling financially with the cost of attending OU.
Glenn said OU is one of the only schools he knows of that provides accommodations through its free park-and-ride shuttle, the free Lloyd Noble lot and shuttles to campus. A new lot also opened in August, he said, which costs $50 to park in and has a free shuttle to campus.
“Regarding accommodations for students having a difficult time paying fines, our office will continue to work with students,” Glenn said.
