'Barnacles' Replacing 'Boots' As Evanston Adjusts Parking Ticket Rules

EVANSTON, IL — A divided City Council voted Monday to reduce the number of unpaid Evanston parking tickets that triggers the "boot" program from five to three, voting 5-4 to reject a amended plan to gradually implement the change by first cutting the immobilization threshold to four before dropping it to three in 2019, Evanston Now reported. Following the rejection of Ald. Peter Braithwaite amendment, council members voted 8-1 to make three tickets trigger the "boot" — or, soon, the "barnacle" instead.

Instead of the traditional "boot" that would lock onto wheels, City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said Evanston has purchased several new devices called The Barnacle intended to reduce the cost to the city of driving around placing conventional "boots" on cars, according to Evanston Now. The new devices attach to windshields with suction cups, include motion sensor alarms for those who attempt to drive around with an obstructed windshield and location tracking if someone tries to steal one.

Not only do parking enforcement officials avoid having to drive around in tow trucks to place boots, motorists can easily enter a code on a number pad and release the obstruction themselves after paying their fine remotely, according to the creators of The Barnacle. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The reduction on "boot" eligibility is aimed at raising revenue to close holes in Evanston's budget, just like a parking ticket amnesty in place in Evanston until Sept. 30. The amnesty aims to recoup some of the roughly $5 million in unpaid tickets the city is owned over the past decade by eliminating past due fines in another of the city's efforts to plug a budget shortfall.

How to pay Evanston parking tickets?

• Online at cityofevanston.org/ticket
• (This payment system does not identify tickets that may be eligible for a boot or driver’s license suspension. For information related to either a pending or current immobilization of a vehicle or driver’s license suspension please contact the City of Evanston at 888-232-9326.)
• By phone by calling 847-448-4311

_{Promotional video from the makers of The Barnacle}

_{Top photo: Screen capture of a promotional video for The Barnacle | Youtube}